


Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives!

by 60_Lingette_Humides



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Alternative universe - therapy camp, F/F, Im attempting to b light hearted funny, Instead this happened, M/M, More angst than previously envisioned, More ships to come but idk wut i want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-01-20 12:36:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 83,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12432996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/60_Lingette_Humides/pseuds/60_Lingette_Humides
Summary: Akira and Futaba Sakura are sent to a wilderness therapy camp in accordance with their sentencing for theirveryillegitimate way they tried to prove Akira was innocent for his pre-existing assault.With their lawyer thankfully talking them out of a bind (juvie, bootcamp, prison?) they traverse the gentle waters of surviving outdoors with a bunch of ne'er-do-wells who might be innocent  themselves.And, oh no! Hot camp counsellors??





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I dont know camping! I dont know wilderness therapy! I just had a very specific scene in my head i wanted to get out and then this whole thing opened up LIKE DELICIOUS MEAT PETALS
> 
> Like, boot camp is too harsh, regular camp doesnt fit the ideals- so im trying !

The cab dropped them off in a large clearing called the middle of nowhere. On closer inspection, there was a campsite far, far in the distance.

Futaba scoffed, "They couldn't even drive us the whole way?"

Her brother looked at their luggage and shrugged. "Boss did want to give us a ride," he reminded her. Heaving a sigh, they both took hold of their bags and began the slow walk to their court mandated 'wilderness therapy.'

 _Not a boot camp,_ they realized rather early into the sentencing. _Not exactly_. Somehow their lawyer, Sae-san, was able to convince the judge of their terrible psychological issues given the way both were "abandoned" at a young age. It took a lot of will to grit their teeth and take the insult, especially with Sojiro right there. Though in the end, they were ordered emotional help instead of serving time. _So it had to be worth it, right?_  
  
The camp seemed small, with two rows of cabins on opposite sides of a huge rec centre, and a wide stretching forest overshadowing it completely behind them. Wooden benches and fire pits were on the other side, facing out into the wild. The cabin designated "Office" sat right next to the rec centre, and was slightly bigger in design.

Once they entered, it seemed apparent the place had been repurposed. Filing cabinets were shoved haphazard against the far wall of the room, and two desks littered in odd spaces. There was a table closest to the door that had a cutesy drawn-on sign next to it on a whiteboard that read "New Campers here!"

Akira laughed low before sitting on the table. Futaba rested her luggage on the chairs given and remained standing with her hands behind her back. There were two people in the office already. Both of them sat on the employee only side of the room, situated at one of the desks. Each one wore a lanyard with a small badge attached saying "Volunteer Counsellor". And if Akira had to guess, both looked to be about his age.

"Ah, are you the Sakuras?" They both nodded in response, and the one who spoke did so in reply. "Welcome. You're a bit late than the other campers, but haven't missed much. I'm Makoto Niijima, and this is Shiho Suzui. We're volunteering counsellors, but we have all the same skills as a normal counsellor and we will be expecting the same respect somebody older would be given-"

She seemed to take a break to exhale, and was about to speak when Shiho interrupted, "You'll be seeing a lot of us," she said smiling, "The normal counsellors got sick or... caught up in something, so they're mostly relying on us. You're rather lucky you came here now."

"Or not, depending on if you came here for rehabilitation."

Shiho shrugged in agreement, "That's true. The real camp experience begins tomorrow; today is just to settle in. So, cabins?"

 

Makoto took hold of one of Akira's suitcases (at her insistence) dragging it behind her as Akira followed. Her speech did little to end as she took Akira to the very end of cabins, "Seeing as you're the last to arrive, you've got the last pick in cabins. Also, you may have noticed the signs on the cabins closest to the activity hub. That's where the volunteers are staying, so if you ever need anything, please knock and let us know. Were you ever briefed on what we would actually do at camp?"

The silence back seemed to drive her on, "We're going to be slowly teaching you how to survive in the wild. There will be one short night-long trip as practice, and after two weeks you'll be expected to spend a week camping with your newly taught skills."

They reached the end of the campground, and she turned to face the cabin as she fished for the doorknob, "However, we also specialize in group therapy sessions and fun recreational activities. There's a lake not far from here, and paint supplies for those who would rather stay inside... Uhm," she opened the door but didn't make any move to enter, staring at him instead. "I know you're not here of your own volition, but it can truly be fun."

She gave a small smile, he nodded in response. "Right," she quipped, finally opening the door. "The free bed is yours. Curfew is ten, but it's extended on the weekends. You're allowed phones for the first day here and before breakfast or after dinner. _That_ isn't meant to stunt you, but get you more accustomed to living away from society... I'll leave you to unpack."

The door closed behind her with a soft click, and Akira turned to see new pairs of eyes on him. A boy with a purple hoodie and bright bleached hair stared openly, while a less obvious blue haired boy had his eyes trained on him from sideview.

The boy who looked like a classic discipline case spoke first, "Finally!! Fresh meat! I thought it'd be me and crab-boy forever!"

Akira turned his gaze to the right, eyeing crab boy with new found suspicion. The boy only seemed to sigh as if he dealt with this far too often. "For somebody who makes it my one denominator, you seem to so often forget they were lobsters..."

"Oh. Lobster boy does sound better, huh?"

Akira eyed the four beds as the two continued to chat, one person growing growingly exasperated at the other. At the point when Yusuke left to go reflect on the beauty of nature, Akira had already learnt his and other boys (Ryuji's) names. He dragged his bags over to the bed on the far left, watching as Ryuji openly complained about how weird Yusuke was.

"So, new kid. Who you?"

He smiled as he opened his suitcases, not pausing in his rummaging, "Akira, the phantom thief."

He whistled, "You in for stealing? That seems more like a juvie thing, honestly."

"I'm here on trumped up charges," he shrugged, deciding to be deceptively honest. "At the mercy of the judicial system."

"What, you were totally screwed over too?"

Akira lifted an eyebrow, finally tilting his head and seeing the passion in the other boys eyes. "It depends who you talk to. So, Ryuji, why are you here?"

 He saw the other boy immediately get pissed, his fist slammed against his bed. "Well- Eff it, we got the whole night! You really wanna know...?"

* * *

The first thing Ann did when Futaba came into the room was hide her phone. The second was laugh at her own paranoia upon seeing Shiho behind her. Then she greeted Futaba as if she were an old friend, her smile not the kind Futaba was used to from her peers (condescending). Then she really did greet her old friend, Shiho.

Futaba was learning that Shiho was incredibly cool. She was volunteering in the program that helped her get back what strength she thought she had lost (and gained back tenfold from what her physique was telling her); she was doing it without being paid; and she was kinda doing it to help people slack off. A lot of justifiably good reasons. Futaba just wished she could tell her how cool she thought it was without clamming up instantly.

Instead, she could only watch as Ann openly used her phone in front of Shiho. She shyly took chips from the junk food offered (that should have been confiscated.) She even showed Shiho her laptop she'd hidden away in a compartment of her suitcase.

Shiho blinked. "Huh, we actually don't allow those. You get wifi out here?" Futaba nodded, thinking of the simplest way to explain the many illegal things that brought her here involving that laptop, "Well, I'd hide it under the mattress, honestly."

"But don't people hide everything there?" Ann questioned.

"No, the literal mattress." Shiho lifted the bed from its frame and showed the wooden board underneath. "As long as nobody goes on it when it's under there, I think you're safe. Usually under the pillowspace is safest, nobody really sits on that."

"Oh- and she's small enough to sleep closer to the foot of the bed!"

Futaba was red, stammering as she slipped the laptop under the bed like they were waiting for, trying not to stare at Shiho's arms. Shiho, who was lifting a bed as if it were nothing (and even if beds aren't particularly heavy, she probably _could_ lift a lot) "Uhm. Uhh, t-thanks. For the tip. I'll do that."

"It's nothing," she replied. "If you have any issues like this, you can come to me. Makoto- she's kind of strict but will go along with more than you think. The other counsellor, Haru, is incredibly kind although you don't see her a lot. And, well-"

"Don't go to counsellor Akechi. For _anything_." Ann warned, face angry for the first time since Futaba had come in. "He acts nice. Keyword: _acts_ , and I know something about that-"

Shiho rolled her eyes and smiled as if she knew something was funny about that sentence. "He does his job. Maybe too well."

"Suspiciously too well," Ann continued, arms folded and voice accusatory. "I've never seen him and bigfoot in the same place at the same time."

"You could say the same about me," Shiho smiled at her friend's ann-tics.

"Yeah, but I trust you to _tell me_ if you were bigfoot."

* * *

  **FUTABA** : TWO PARTY MEMBERS ACHIEVED:

 **FUTABA** : SHIHO - very cool, lets me keep my laptop, tank

 **FUTABA** : ANN - special privileges (shihos friend), gets to keep her phone at all times, believes in bigfoot

 **FUTABA** : the other ppl in my cabin r just random npcs who completely ignored me!

 **FUTABA** : what abt ur side of shit big bro ( •᷄ὤ•᷅)？

 **AKIRA** : theres a dood called lobster boy

 **FUTABA** : thats all u got ( •᷄ὤ•᷅)？( •᷄ὤ•᷅)？( •᷄ὤ•᷅)？

 **AKIRA** : nah :3 blond kid ryujis here on a shit charge  (sound familiar??)

 **AKIRA** : hes basically here for standing up to an abusive teacher for him and ann...your ann?

 **FUTABA** : thats fucking bullshit!!!

 **FUTABA** : ugh adults 

 **FUTABA** : oh yeah dont trust akechi

 **AKIRA** : who???

 **FUTABA** : ¯\\_(ツ)_/ ¯ one of the counsellors. basically:

 **FUTABA** : shiho is easy mode, makoto medium, goro akechi hard

  **FUTABA** : theres someone called haru too but apparently shes never around ?? (๑•ૅૄ•๑) so im putting her as a secret ending

 **AKIRA** : FUCK lobster boi JUST came back its been 3 hours 

 **AKIRA** : oh it aint lobster noib ob o bob ross

 **FUTABA** : LOL OK WHAT

 **FUTABA** : I LOVE BOB ROSS TOO BUT UR NOT MAKING SENSE 

 **FUTABA** : BRO?

 **FUTABA** : LOBSTER BRO?

 **FUTABA** : akira this is a small camp i could walk in on u and a lobster right now

 

 

  **AKIRA** : ... sorry

  **AKIRA** : bob ross was autocorrect

 **AKIRA** : i think i just met akechi 

* * *

 

It started with a light knocking at the door. Akira sat on the end of his bed. He was texting Futaba on their latest findings, treating the mandatory vacation as a mission- it was just easier that way. Making up short-term goals to get themselves past the long-term battle. It made sense. It stopped Futaba from getting too into her own head, it helped him relax.

It started with a light tap, then three short knocks. Then Akira and Ryuji both giving reasons why they couldn't get it. ("I'm texting my sister." "I'm texting my  _mom_!" " _I'll_  start texting your mom if you don't get it." "Wha- ew- eff off, man!")

Then Ryuji yelling, "Yusuke, just come in! It's your cabin too, damnit! It's even your lobsters cabin if you want!" He swore under his breath, "I really hope he doesn't have anymore..."

The door finally opened of it's own accord, Akira barely took a glimpse as he continued typing- and then he took another look. And that look turned into a stare as his fingers turned to mush against a virtual keyboard, typing out who knew what.

To his right was Ryuji's bed. To the right of Ryuji's bed was the door. Standing to the left of that blessed door, wearing a small amused smile was a being Akira had lost words to describe. He lost the art of language. He was a caveman, thinking in basic shapes, reacting to base instincts and primal thoughts.

Eyes. Red. Nose. Sloped. A heart shaped head, bathed in the light of the almost-sunset outside. Tan brown hair framed in a halo of golden yellow background. His face writhed in shadow except for the lamp at Ryujis desk, which gave him more of an ethereal glow than a shit lampshade should provide.

Angel. That was the word, as old as god itself, used on this righteous day to describe the first person Akira has ever wanted to fuck on impact. Wow, he was glad nobody could hear him right now.

"God, Yusuke- oh. Sorry," Ryuji let out a nervous laugh but it was all background noise. "Our cabinmate left, we thought you were him."

 _Why are you talking_ , Akira wanted to ask the very first friend he made at this camp.  _What gave you the right to bastardize this moment_ \- his shirt was like every other counsellors, starch white, yet in it's innate sense of purity it felt  _wrong_  for him to wear. He called him an angel but his smile was more plastic as the seconds ticked on- his skin tight around the eyes.

Slowly and then all at once. Akira realized he was falling hard for someone who hadn't said one word to him. Or he to him.

Akira coughed, trying to hide how hard he was staring as the boy's eyes continued to glint in a knowing way. "Sup?" he ventured, trying to appear nonchalant as his house burnt down.

The boy hummed in response, "You're Akira Sakura, correct? I'm here to give you the schedule as you were late to arrive here."

He nodded before replying. He replied before he could wax poetic about his voice. "Yeah. Thanks."

The boy made his way down the aisle of beds to give him the paper. Akira grasped it, pulled at it, but the counsellor was still holding on. He looked up at the boy in quiet confusion. Up close, every tug at the corner of his lips seemed smug. His eyes glittered with condescension. He spoke again in that lilting harpsichord. "Try not to be late too often, okay?"

Then he let go. He twisted around, face still smug, still gloating to himself or some unforeseen god when Akira snaked a hand out and around his wrist. Like a serpent weaving it's way through to the tree of knowledge, ready to entice and demonize. Or was it the other way around? Regardless, the boy turned around, face momentarily blank as he regarded Sakura as if he were actually human. "Yes?"

He stared into the boy's eyes once more, his own face no doubt as empty.  "I might remember more often if you're there to remind me."

Slowly, a grin wormed it's way onto his face, "Is that so?" The voice was sickly sweet, though so rewarding in how passive aggressive it's undertones. "I'm afraid that's not a counsellors job."

"You're right-"  _but it could be your job,_  he wanted to reply. To his immense surprise, he heard a cough and realized Ryuji was still in the room. Slowly he laxed his grip on the other boy's arm, watched as he had to disentangle his own limb.

"Goodbye," was the last thing he said, finally twisting around and effectively leaving the small cabin. The door's quiet slam the only sound after his own footsteps come to pass. Seconds tick by. His face grows red.

Finally, it happened. Ryuji shouted, utterly flabbergasted. "WHAT. THE. HELL. F-first you go after my mom, now a counsellor? Now  _that_  counsellor?"

Akira was clumsily typing back a very late reply to Futaba when Ryuji made certain his fear. " _That_... counsellor?"

"Akechi! Hardass of the century!"

Akira sank into his bed, looking to Ryuji that he had finally realized the error of his ways. Until he replied, "I always liked a hard ass."

"Oh- Oh come on! Yusuke, are you hearing this?!"

Akira twisted his head. Yusuke  _had_  returned. He closed the door with the back of his foot, his hands occupied with holding his shirt out to keep the odd bouquet of flowers from tumbling forward. He dumped the aforementioned foliage on his bed before turning to them both with a critical eye. "I heard some, but I doubt it was the full conversation. Now, when you say hard ass; do you also have a love for statues and the fine arts, or am I right to think of our residential golden boy?"

Ryuji whimpered, holding his head in his hands, "You already know!"

He grabbed his sketchbook with a sigh, "Indeed, I did. But I still held out hope."

 


	2. Day 2: Knots/Basic Health Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The old beginning of this chapter is now at the end of chapter 1, due to me being a hoe and formatting :") so please go back to ch1 if u read it before the change
> 
> This chapter is now entirely day 2 of the camp adventure, hence why its chapter 2

 It was breakfast the next day when Ann met Akira and Futaba finally met Ryuji and Yusuke. Ryuji and Akira came late, opting to get food once the line was relatively short (Yusuke had left earlier to cloudgaze, or something). Akira sat to Futaba's right (Ann at her left), with his hand already snaking it's way to hers underneath the table. She gave him a small smile. Ryuji sat opposite, with Yusuke to his right.

Ryuji''s eyebrows instantly went up to his hairline, "Who's she?"

"My sister."

"Wha- You could have totally answered the door last night!" They settled at the table and exchanged a few more pleasantries before settling into an almost prison-like conversation. Meanwhile, handling the abundance of food choices was Shiho and a few elderly workers with smiles on their faces. 

"Okay," Akira asked grimly, twisting his head so he could see Ann. "I'm curious. What are you in for?"

She laughed, "That's a loaded question. I'm at this particular program because Shiho was in it and it's the one Ryuji was- assigned. _Legally_ , I wasn't in the Kamoshida case... Instead, my parents heard rumours about me and pushed me into it," Ann stabbed her food in reply, a pout on her face. "They believed random people over _their own daughter_! I model sometimes, so I guess it spread a little more than it usually would. They think I was dating older men for money."

It felt like there was more to be said, by the odd look Ryuji gave her. Akira exchanged eye contact with Futaba, and they both stared steely in reply to Ann's confession. She smirked, "Fine. I didn't date them. I was pissed off they even _tried_ , so I robbed them at the love hotels. If they didn't want to lose their money, why did they call out to me on the _streets_? I _hate feeling that vulnerable..."_

She sighed. "I wish I had that way of thinking back when we were dealing with Kamoshida. I could have done... _so much_."

Ryuji waved his hand, trying to make light of it. "You were scared. We all were." He turned back to Akira, "You never explained what _you_  did to end up here."

Futaba winced. Akira replied, "Did you want the easy version, or the fuck-me-silly crazy version?"

"The longer explanations are always the more interesting," Yusuke interjected.

Futaba drummed at the table, her eyes working out plot elements in her head before she groaned. Akira spoke for her, "It's a bit complicated. Maybe you could go first?"

"Certainly," Yusuke replied before drinking his orange juice. "While Ann's was a crime of passion, and Ryuji''s justice- I stole out of necessity. My former art teacher, Madarame, had become disillusioned in my eyes when I found out he... _often_ used his pupils work and titled it as his own. I don't know when but his passion for art ceased and his greed rose.

"I left his home, denouncing him as an artist. I lived in my dorm, without any sort of allowance. I began to steal food, and those thefts coupled with the many minor infractions I had for loitering over the years piled up- When I admitted to my living arrangement I was sent here with the thought I have a behavioral condition. A kleptomaniac: lying and stealing without reason."

"That's terrible!"

"Did nobody ask your old art teach about any of this?"

At that, Yusuke's countenance darkens. His fingers gripped the table as if he were clawing his way through it. "He said he had _no idea_ why I would do this and that he was giving me enough money to live on my own every month. It's my word against his. He is still my legal guardian."

"Can he just do that?! Somebody should have looked into it!" Futaba finally yelled, the first anybody had heard of her the whole morning.

Yusuke looked up, momentarily startled out of his reservoir of memories. "Yes, they should have." He said blankly, "As it is, he signed the permission form for me to be here. Likely laughing as we speak."

"Shit..." Ryuji sighed, "And here I thought the stolen lobsters were the worst that happened."

He shrugged, "I prefer the lobster story to the truth. It's at least comical."

Akira lifted his eyebrow. Ryuji snickered, "Oh yeah, you don't know the actual story..."

The conversation got lighter after that, and Akira and Futaba's reasons for being there were forgotten in the white noise of the makeshift cafeteria. A bell rang at the food counter, and the whole table watched as Shiho walked out from behind the kitchen to be replaced by Akechi Goro. In a hairnet.

"Hey, your lover's here." Ryuji rolled his eyes. Futaba's own widened in a silent question, 'Him?'

He nodded. Ann looked between the two of them in silent confusion, "No...No!"

"That's what I said!"

"Actually, it was more 'What. The. Hell.'"

"I was feeling the No's inside."

"You know what big bro wants to feel inside..."

"Eff that!"

"Guys! Shut up- Shiho! Hey, can you...?" Ann slipped her phone out of her sleeve like it was practiced, nudging her head in the direction of a hair netted Akechi. Shiho smiled, taking the phone as if she was accepting a dove onto her hand.

They watched her walk toward him, speaking animatedly. "Hey, Akechi-kun! Smile!" ("Think he's gonna do it?" "Of course- he probably practices before bed for one of these!" "Why? So even during a fire he wouldn't be caught off guard?" "Ha! That's pretty funny." "...I wasn't joking.")

At once his smile grew stronger, not one to resist a photo. ("Suck up." "Why do you guy's think he's hardmode?" "Huh?" "Why's he such a pain?" "In the span of two days, he's displayed the same behaviour-" "you can just tell!" "Yeah! He made me take out my headphones while I was walking around!" "He criticized my hair with his passive aggressive-")

"Hmmmm." ("....")

"Something wrong, Akechi?" Shiho asked, still taking photos. ("She's brave.")

He smiled for another picture, stating blankly, "I don't believe that's your phone." ("Crap!" "Fuck!" "Language!")

Shiho smiled awkwardly. ("Abort mission! Abort mission!" "...I got this." "Akira?! Get back here-")

Akira walked over to the serving counter, his empty tray held loose in his grip. He turned to Shiho and took the phone out of her hand, "Thanks for taking the pictures."

Where Akechi looked as if before he could freeze hell over, he had an odd calculated frost. "That's your phone? And not one of the other four kids at your table?"

A distant "Hell, he knows!" reaches all three pairs of ears.  _Well_ _, we weren't very quiet._

He continued on as if he weren't sold out already. "Yeah, can't you tell?" The phone was decorated in an excess amount of bubble stickers. Bunnies, deer, and cute demons littered the red casing. He shrugged, "You can't judge a book by its cover."

"You can by it's contents. If we opened that up, would it truly say Akira Sakura?"

Akechi knew he was bluffing, and Akira knew he was caught. He still said, as if he believed it to be true to his grave, "Of course."

Akechi almost laughed, but he finally remembered where he was. "Well, no matter who it belongs to it's confiscated now." He shifted his gaze between the two of them. "Shiho, you can put it away since I'm busy."

"Ah, yes- of course."

Akira handed it over willingly. All three of them knew Shiho was going to give it back to Ann. Even Akechi, whose assumption proved correct on her departure and the odd, fumbled hug she gave Ann on the way out.

Then they were alone. An odd electricity buzzed through the air that Akira wordlessly ignored as he watched the other boy pile plates onto his tray. The way little tufts of hair escaped the hairnet and moved to cover his face as he stockpiled food was ethereal in itself- but there were no words to explain how beautiful he was when his head dipped upward again and Akira was connected to pearlescent red.  
  
"I must say," Akechi spoke, and the rest of the room felt as though it were underwater, "This program often gets re-offenders, usually in _violent_ cases. I hope not to see you again."

Akira stared, one hand almost forgetting the tray completely until he held it tighter, finally moving the line behind him as he spoke, his eyes still on Akechi, "Then how will I see you again?"

At the next lunchlady's coo of entertainment, he refracted his steel-eyed gaze, squinting at her nametag. "Or you! ... Meredith." She had a laugh, and Akechi was steadfast to ignore the replying laugh until the offender was at his table of delinquints and he was well on to his fifth person in line. Then he laughed under his breath.

After breakfast Ryuji and Ann wanted to try the reception closer to the road, so they'd left early. Futaba, noting that this was a time her dorm mates would be gone, rushed to use her laptop in peace. That left Yusuke and Akira. Yusuke, who upon finding they were alone, started asking what he saw in Akechi besides aesthetic appeal. ("I do see a certain charm, but it's entirely reminiscent of the more dominating figures in history... Oh, is that what you're into? I see-")  
  
After that Akira couldn't wait to excuse himself, saying he wanted to get more unpacking done. Yusuke nodded and continued to abuse the kitchen staff for seconds. Akira had to agree that if anyone deserved to, it was Yusuke.  
  
He took the time at his cabin to actually read through their schedule. The entire camp seemed to have basically the same activities for today; an introduction to knot tying for the morning and some basic first aid for the afternoon. Evening was all free time, with restrictions. The days after would progressively teach harder skills in much the same way, and Akira was tempted to say the timetable was meaningless with how uncomplicated the schedule actually was.  
  
 He stuffed the paper into his pocket nonetheless, his phone hidden underneath. His hoodie was pulled tight against him, his glasses perched on his nose and earphones hidden under his hood. He left the cabin, walking behind it to where the most people seemed to be and where he assumed the lesson was.

When he finally made it to the large expanse facing the woods, people were already huddled in groups of ten or so.  They were standing in bunches surrounding piles of rope and looking utterly bored of out of their minds.

Akira squinted. Normally it would be easy to find his sister, but in a sea of low level delinquents everyone seemed to have hair as vibrant as hers. Akira walked further into the crowd, stumbling on what he first thought was a root until he turned around. A kid had his leg out, smirking ruefully at the other from his spot on the grass. Akira glared and kept moving on.

He found them near the edge of the clearing, just teetering into woodland. The conversation seemed to be about ice cream, or sushi, or a buffet- and then Shiho cleared her troat, acting as if she wasn't involved in the conversation like she was moments ago. He glimpsed to the right, seeing what Shiho saw. Makoto was looking out among the masses, scrutinizing how much more effort would have to be put in before-

A shrill whistle blew through the air. It had to be a dog whistle with the cry Ryuji gave. It was ear-aching, head splitting nausea in one high pitched squeal of sound. And when it stopped, and they all removed their hands from their ears, they saw it came from a lone Goro Akechi standing in the middle of the congregation. He smiled warmly, a bundle of rope rested in his grip. "Groups of ten please!"

The silence that was forced moments ago was broken by people jumping together into groups, asking stunted questions that were answered before they began ("Fuck, of course you're in our group!") or the more popular alternative ("Fuck off!") All they had to do, meanwhile, was sit in their group of five and wait. Shiho had left to go get more groups together, stating that a lot of the troubled kids were loners.  
  
The NPCS from Anns cabin walked over if only because they knew nobody else there, which was typical enough. Two other stragglers jumped ship at seeing the group three people short. And one loner was tentatively pushed by Shiho as if they were a den of wolves. "This is-"

Akechi's whistle went off twice in two short bursts, this time carried by Makoto. "Can each group find a bench and a box of rope?"

Several voices shouted sarcastic 'no's but otherwise the groups carried on, if entirely unenthusiastic. The actual  lesson even less so, with Futaba utterly petrified by the five strangers in their group, even with Shiho nearby alternating between instructing them and the next closest group. Ryuji, surprisingly, was the one who was best at it. "It's like... unravelling in reverse." is what he constantly used to justify him being stupidly good at it.

"That explains nothing," Ann would say, but she was slowly getting the hang of the odder knots. Futaba, on the other hand, was slowly moving her knot like a snake, sometimes unravelling it at the ends just to see how far it'd go. Yusuke was trying to make knots in the shape of animals- a noble effort, even if their half of the table was looked on with odd glances.

By the end of it, only Akira, Ann and Ryuji had finished creating most of the knots in the booklets given. The two people from Ann and Futaba's dorm had finished about half, the two randoms were laughing to themselves and completely forgoing knots, and the one kid Shiho insisted upon was staring futilely at a knot as if it would bend itself at their will.

"How did you finish all these? You weren't even done the first page 'til like an hour!" Ryuji asked, nudging Akira at his side.

He shrugged, "I'm used to time constraints. And a lot of these use the simpler knots as bases, so-"

Futaba gasped, "So you cheated!"

"For a good cause."

The lone stranger, although they wouldn't admit it, was listening aptly and at once realized what Akira said was correct. They finished their knot with a flourish, a small smile gracing them for the very first time since they began. Then the lunch bell rang. Groups scattered without wait for any sign from a counsellor, including half of their own.

Futaba stretched as if the air around her was already cleaner, her senses refreshed in the lack of an audience. "So, Shiho. Need any help?" She squeaked as the rest of them took in the piles of knots left on tables.

She sighed, smiling tiredly "Nah. This is all part of the job. You guys should go eat."

* * *

 LUNCH as described by Futaba Sakura:

+10 MUTTON  
+10 MEAD  
STATUS: SAVAGE VIKING WARRIOR (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )

PARTY EFFECTS: HUNGER DIMINISHED (100%), BANTER IMPROVED  (69%), HOMESICKNESS (67%)

INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS:

FUTABA SAKURA:  
\- Social Skills GO! +420 XP!  
  
AKIRA SAKURA:  
\- Brooding Teen Look GO! +69 XP!  
\- Blushing Maiden Look GO! +69 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)!  
  
RYUJI SAKAMOTO:  
\- Can Balance A Sandwich On His Nose Like A Dolphin  
\- Animagus Transformation 51% Complete  
  
ANN TAKAMAKI:  
\- Special Item GOT! +Rare Akechi Photo  
\- Special Skill GOT! +Rare Akira Blush  
  
YUSUKE KITAWAGA:  
-Has Secretly Been Feeding A Rabbit Under The Table  
\- Animagus Transformation 68% Complete

* * *

First aid was held in a large room somewhere further into the mess hall, where actual tables seemed to be placed like it was a classroom. The first thing they did was listen to Makoto's speech on the importance of proper training- and then they heard it all echoed again in the videos they watched thereafter. 

Each table was given a first aid kit to fully acquaint themselves with, along with training dummies to practice wrapping gauze around. When it came to CPR, they elected to only have one person at each table attempt it on the dummy due to hygiene concerns, and the rather lax reasoning that there would be at least one person per group during the real expedition that would know how.

 

Makoto was quietly watching the ongoing lesson, sighing minutely as time droned and nothing seemed to be destroyed. Sure, some kids were making their dolls have sex, and some had gone to gross lengths to demonstrate the "real" CPR technique (apparently involving a lot of tongue), but that came with the job, right? She looked over some of the quieter groups; the shyer kids, the ones so terrified of classroom environments they didn't dare move; the people slowly getting the work done, if only they couldn't be hounded for it later. The one group that seemed to be having, at least for now, PG-13 fun.

_Huh... on second look._

"So, how do you do it?"

The girl in pigtails scoffed, "I can't do it on the model! It's not anatomically correct at all."

"I know that! Just- you know," the boy made vague gestures.

She laughed at his antics, "Fine. Usually, the most important thing is playing the part. I'm a great actor-" a snort, "Hey! You're not taking this seriously at all!"

The- Futaba Sakura, she recalls. Futaba Sakura grasps at the girl's jacket proclaiming, "I'm taking this seriously!"

Her hand faltered in front of the doll's pelvis. "Oh! Good! Yeah, so, intent. Make them think you're doing what they want, and when you're right on their balls-"

The rest of the instructions were lost in the onslaught of groans from the boys in the group. Makoto could feel a shocked smile teetering on the brink of her lips when a voice breaks through instead.

"Everything okay, Niijima-san?"

"Akechi-kun! Of course," she turned to his familiar smile.

"Apologies. You seemed out of it." He lifted his eyes to the group she had been observing. "They're rather free-spirited."

"That's the perfect use of the word."

* * *

**FUTABA** : we never did tell them our tragic backstory

 **AKIRA** : ¯\\_(ツ)_/ ¯

 **AKIRA** : maybe sumday

 **FUTABA** : gnight bro

 **AKIRA** : nite 

 **AKIRA** : p.s ur doing great so far 

 **AKIRA** : stay strong! 0( =^･_･^)=〇


	3. Day 3: Tents/Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! So i changed my formatting around (on the 2nd day of having this posted, jfc me)
> 
> Each chapter is going to be a day in the camp, so now the first chapter has the meeting with goro at the end & the second chapter starts at breakfast the next day (and then continues onto the whole day) so!!! If u read the 2nd chapter before now u should go reread it!!! Sorry 4 inconvenience
> 
> READER: but pourquoi ?  
> ME: UHHHHH *SWEATS*
> 
> It just seems a lot more coherent to do that than have a new chapter per every scene- and the camp is only a 3 week thing, and 21 chapters doesnt sound terrible when i can wax poetic about goro in each one.... so expect long-ish waits for lots of words

 It was before breakfast. The sky outside attacked Akira's bed with it's golden orange hue, it's light peeking out through a badly closed curtain. He sighed, rubbing irritably at his eyes. His hand fished around his pocket tiredly, momentarily lost in what he was doing but not knowing why. _Oh yeah._ He brought the paper centimetres from his face to read the schedule:

Today, they were going over how to set up tents and tarps, and the afternoon would be teaching them about making fire ( _like the cavemen we are_ ) and end... with a bonfire. He scratched through his messy bedhead. That didn't sound too bad.

Akira stood stretching, wondering exactly what he was going to do so early when a knock resonated on the door. Not a light tap, a hesitant knock that he watched continue on for two minutes without answer. _You can open it,_ he wanted to say. Curiosity held his tongue in wonder for how long it would go. Was this person really content to-

A loud metal clang hit the wooden door, sounding like a toolshed tipping over and all it's contents spilt down a stairwell. Akira cursed, running his hands back over his bed in an attempt to find his phone. Once he had it he answered the loud, non-stop crash of what was either cleaning supplies or a gong.

It was a metal watering can. He lifted his eyes from the strange accessory to find a stranger person stood in front of him; not unusual in form, but in appearance. Not like that. It was strange for her to appear. Her plain white shirt was covered in a pink sweater, and her hair was dyed a beautiful rose that he thought she was another camper, either with eccentricities or trying to fight him. His eyes landed on her lanyard and the familiar name of their campsite, and a more questionable name-

"Akira Sakura?" "Are you Haru?"

She nodded, "Welcome to our camp."

"Shiho's mentioned you," he offered in way of explanation. "What do you do around camp?"

"Oh!" She looked as if she was weighing the merit in answering, then lifted her watering can with a smile. "I'm usually in the kitchen cooking the food, or tending to the flowers before the day starts. If I'm not doing those, I'm doing paperwork for the camp... Why are you interested? Did you want to be a counsellor?"

He scratched the back of his head, "I... don't know about that. I was just curious. You're very hard to find."

"You wanted to find me?"

Oh god he sounds creepy. "Not me. My sister, Futaba, she was the one to bring it up- You're kinda like a shiny, you kno-" he saw her giggling and relaxed. "So, what did you need?"

She looked as if he should already know. "Your father is here to visit."

"W-what?"

"He didn't tell you beforehand?"

Akira hesistantly checked his phone, eyes filtering through every recent name. It was too early for this. "Nah. Uh- Sojiro Sakura, right?"

She gave a concerned nod, "If a surprise visit is too much... I don't know what kind if person your dad is, but you can refuse-"

He finally removed his eyes from his phone. He knew what she was trying to say. His dad- Sojiro- his new dad wasn't like that, though. "No. That's fine. He's a good guy. We should start heading there actually. Have you told my sister yet?"

"Not at all."

They began walking in the direction of the cabin. He pocketed his phone in the silence. It was a new day and he could already feel it. "Counsellor Haru, do you see a lot of that?" She made a questioning sound in reply. "A lot of parents showing up without reason to- scream? Berate? Gaslight? Those are the only things I can imagine."

The sun peeked overtop everything in a harsh light, the morning dew was melting atop its warmth. He saw Haru shiver. "Sometimes. Usually It's just the aftermath."

He turned to her, question on his lips. She turned to face straight ahead. "We supervise visits, but all we can do is stand outside and wait. I only hear what's loud enough to make it outside. The parent is never crying, but the kid always is."

They reached the visitors cabin. He turned to watch her walk toward the girl's dorms, "So, why are you a counsellor here?"

She gave him a small smile. "Honestly? To get away from my father."

Fuck if that didn't raise any questions. Akira stood outside the cabin, firing a few warning shots for Futaba.

 **AKIRA** : secret ending coming ur way + special BOSS fight  
**FUTABA** : ur awake right now????  
**FUTABA** : what does that even mean  
**FUTABA** : we dont have to go swimming the entire route, i checke  
**FUTABA** : HES HERE???

By the time Akira entered the room, Sojiro crouched vulnerable at the desk, coffee in his thermos and his wry look gone for concern. He almost hadn't noticed him, until Futaba came crashing through the door and woke him out of his melancholy. "Kids..."

Akira nodded.

Futaba jumped onto a seat, "What's up? Code niner? Red alert? We need to make Leblanc a maid cafe?"

Sojiro smiled despite the strain his face was under. "I wish. First- how is camp? Make any friends?"

Another nod. Futaba spoke for him, "There are people here who don't deserve it at all... Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke... they're all victims. B-but, anyway, Akira already has a crush! Not on a delinquent though! The counsellor!"

Sojiro raised an eyebrow, "Not even two full days in."

Akira shrugged despite his blush, leaning against the desk as he stayed standing. "Why did you come without calling first?"

He sighed, his voice conspiratorially low. "The line is bugged. Anonymous threats have been coming in about things I've only mentioned on-phone. I was going to look into it, but I don't think they'll take any action until you guys get back."

"Do you think it's..." Futaba whispered.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just wanted you guys to be aware. Stay on your toes."

"You too," Akira replied. He got up from his spot to peer through the blinds. Haru was waiting outside. He turned to look further into the cabin. A door was shut, he had no idea who could be inside. "Futaba, maybe tell him about the phone?

"Oh!" She began whispering about a burner phone she kept in her room, "I can call it for you. You can use it back home."

He nodded and placed a hand on Futaba's shoulder. "Alright. I'm so proud of you two. Stay strong."  
  
They walked him back to his car, mulling over the news. "Do your new friends know...?"

They shook their head.

"Good. I wouldn't fill them in completely. You don't know what they could be keeping from you."

Futaba took a deep breath before nodding, then she ran up to Sojiro in a hug. He returned it. Akira came close to pat him on the head. "Hey!" He complained, laughing. "I'm not Futaba!"

"Next time, bring Morgana!"

"Because that's not  _suspicious_ \- I jump town with my cat all the time!"  
  
  
They watched his car drive off with a piece of them. Akira sighed, taking Futaba's hand to drag her into the mess hall. "Breakfast should be starting..."  
  
BREAKFAST as described by Akira Sakura  
  
+10 Ann had a cat and showed cat photos  
+10 Talked about Morgana  
  
STATUS: MEOWVELOUS ( =①ω①=)  
  
PARTY EFFECTS: AWW (^=˃ᆺ˂), CUTE ｡(＾･ｪ･＾)｡, MEOW WOW WOW (＾ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°＾)ﾉ,  
  
INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS:  
  
AKIRA SAKURA:  
-revived by cat  
  
FUTABA SAKURA:  
-purrfect in my book  
-nyat a problem  
-thinks akira is doing this WRONG  
  
ANN TAKAMAKI:  
-her phone contains good things  
-who knows wut else she has  
-susp  
  
RYUJI SAKAMOTO:  
\- "more of a dog person"  
\- bad  
  
YUSUKE KITAGAWA:  
-admits to eating pigeon before  
-animagus transformation 85% complete

* * *

 Haru and Akechi were the ones in charge today. They put together their tents separately, going over each individual step for their group of thirty or so kids. Akira was dragged to Haru's tent by Futaba, who he knew she wanted a closer look at. He acquiesced, but his gaze constantly slided to the other counsellor on the other side of the field, his clear voice lost to the buzz of insects and voices around them. His hair was up in a ponytail, his gaze serious as he held the front pole in hand. Futaba jolted his shoulder and he turned back to Haru. He did need to know this...  
  
Knowing how to pitch a tent actually involved knowing how to tie various knots to tether the tent- imagine that! Akira set down the pegs for the lines. They watched as Ryuji and Ann did most of the work tying it down. Yusuke and Futaba were holding the poles steady, trying to appear helpful under Akechi's scrutinizing gaze. Luckily (or not) he never came over to help them. Him and Haru seemed too busy helping kids set them up so they had tents and not the odd pancake shaped flop some other groups were producing. Although he wasn't doing most of the work he felt sweat roll down his neck. Noon was fast approaching.  
  
Akira's roaming eyes found Akechi, the man about to use his whistle when Haru spoke up instead. Her voice wasn't anywhere loud, but the people still trying to lift their mess of poles off the ground were too tired to protest. "Alright everyone! We're done with tents for today. Congrats to everyone who did good- everyone else can keep trying another day!"  
  
A lacklustre 'woo' edged through the crowd. Akechi spoke once it quieted down. "After lunch is learning how to make a fire. At least in theory." He smiled, "If you're unable to do that, the counsellors will be preparing a bonfire at the end of the day where we can enjoy smores regardless."

* * *

LUNCH by... "Hey, where'd Akira go?"  
"Something about helping with the tents."  
  
Each tent left behind by a group was still a mass of poles and fabric and pegs and lines that would be utterly taxing removing on their own, no matter how well made it was. Akira Sakura thought it would be nice to give a helping hand. He thought it would be a well appreciated gesture that would be well received and it had nothing to do with how he hadn't talked to Akechi since breakfast yesterday.

He slipped off his hoodie, ran a hand through his hair (oh god, sweat!) and approached the male counsellor. He was loosening the last line and watching the crumbled heap materialize into a pile of tarp. Akira quickly came into view, Akechi's questioning gaze felt hot on his face as he went about laying the tent flat on the ground. He kneeled down to roll it up properly when the other boy crouched next to him. "You've done this before?"

 He shrugged, "Never. I'm just following your guy's instructions. Did I do it right?"

Akechi stared at the rolled up tent in between them, "Perfect for a first time."

He smirked. "My first actual compliment from you."

"People usually have to do something worthy of praise before they're complimented, so I suppose yes, it is."

Akira ran his fingers on the rolled up tarp. His next words were too honest. "Do you not like me? You're not exactly nice."

Akechi instantly looked shocked, gawking at the other. He rose from the spot as he talked, taking the tent with him while he moved to another propped up monstrosity. "I'm civil to all campers here. Maybe not nice, but you haven't been very kind to me."

"Huh?" Akira ran to match his pace.

"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you've yet to realize both situations involving _you_ involved antagonizing _me_." He began pulling at the lines, loosening them. Akira did the same. "I handed you the timetable in your dorm, and you threw me a line like every other kid trying to upset a counsellor. Then, taking my picture while I wore a hairnet? Am I supposed to like you for these things?"

"What if it wasn't just a line-"

Akechi interrupted him with a laugh. Bright, mocking laughter that could rise birds out of the trees. As it was, the wind carried it away and Akechi stared at Akira in a bemused stare. "I know your type. I've heard about your crimes. You think you can say whatever you like and get by without pulling your own weight."

"Then what am I doing right now?"

Akechi paused. "What a good question. Why are you here?"

He sighed, unraveling knots as he went. "I wanted to get to know you more. Now, I suppose this is my apology for coming off like a douche."

They worked in silence. Three tents later and Akechi faced Akira, his arms full of rolled up tent bags. "I suppose you're forgiven, if you were really being sincere about your apology."

"What would it take to prove it?"

"I'm... not sure."

He shrugged. "We can just start over," he said as he undid another tent line. "I'm Akira Sakura."

The boy lifted his eyes from the spot where the tent lay flat. "... Goro Akechi."

"You get your hands dirty often?"

He scoffed, staring at his hands that were covered in dirt from the pegs. "Literally, you're not wrong."

"And every other way?"

Akechi stared blankly at his metaphorically, physically, mentally sullied hands. He shrugged, "It wouldn't be the first."

"Oh, so you've _also_ figuratively dirtied your hands," he smirked. "I guess we're not so different, you and I?"

Akechi finished untying the last peg on the tent with a hard pull of the rope and a stiff grin, "I don't know about that," he mused, "At least, I've never been caught..."

He choked out an unexpected laugh, "You asshole!"

 

 

 Fire-making lessons were a disaster. Many kids brandished their lighters and set aflame grass in lieu of practicing. Even more kids attempted to burn the whole forest down. Counsellor Akechi watched with a sigh, his own station at the hose in case anything got... too big.

He stared at the groups. The less troublesome groups, where kids were smiling by the end of the night because they'd correctly gotten a very small fire going. Most of the ones who tried had the right idea, he supposed, and the rest was up to luck and the direction of the wind. And practice.

 Akira's own group, who he may or may not have been harsh to on the grounds of their rambunctious nature and the way they seemed to ooze delinquency- Well, he could admit they seemed to be doing fine. Futaba Sakura, the younger sister, seemed to have found the one thing in the past few activities that she could do well; burn things.  _She was a redhead after all._

 _Soon kids will be brandishing makeshift torches and unknowingly re-enacting Lord of the Flies._ He walked toward the field, hose in hand. He grasped his whistle and realized with a start that nobody was talking.  _It seems they hate this atrocious sound as much as I do._

He abandoned his whistle to the relieved sighs of campers. "Please stomp out your fires- No, disregard that. The counsellors will put out all fires in the  _correct, safe protocol."_

 _Or, with this giant hose._ He stared at the groups, "The lesson is over. Please go to your cabins to rest until we call you out again for a bonfire," he chanced a smile. His eyes sought out Akira's instinctively, so he held back his gaze to stare at the wandering shapes slowly receding into their cabins.

Then he and each counsellor present, Suzui and Niijima (where did Okumura go now?) did their best to smite the flames that didn't immediately die out without prompt. He made a small mercy in giving Niijima the hose, and immediately went to one of the larger fires.

 

Akira shifted ever so closer to the counsellor, taking quiet steps on the forest floor. The ground sufficiently trampled so it lay a solid bed of leaves and grass. The boy in question was smothering a fire, and the very profile of his face unintentionally kindled a flame of it's own.

"Were you attempting to sneak up on me, Sakura-kun?" 

 "With good reason," he explained, waving the marshmellows in his hand when Akechi drifted his eyes from his task.

"A peace offering?" he muttered tempidly. "And you bring sugar. Possibly  _stolen_  sugar, the worst confectionary-"

"Haru already told me about your sweet tooth."

"Drat," said Akechi, so quiet it could have been the breeze. "Then- pass one over, please."

 The sky was getting dark. 

A cobalt sky greeted the campers upon their return, along with a fire the size of a desk. They had known it was the size of a desk because Haru came forward dragging one along, exclaiming, "It's been in storage for years! It should go to some good use." The desk burned perfectly contained in a large ring of rocks. It glowed in the direct middle of the field, away from all equipment. The heat that came off it was intense, so strong that even the kids making jokes about running into it were doing so from afar.

"What good are these marshmellows for if we can't cook them?" Ann stared at the roaring fire, "I'm sure we can try... Akira! I dare you..."

Oh no, Futaba watched. It seemed they finally realized her brother would do anything on a dare. She watched mournfully as he approached the flames, waving the stick like a sword in front of him. At least, until Akechi came bumbling over.

"Sakura! Are you sure you're not one of the neanderthals I described earlier?" He took the stick from his hand and waved it around like a baton.

"I was dared," he smiled back. The rest of the gang stood shocked. Save Yusuke, who had left with a passing Haru to describe the best spots for wild flowers. "Maybe you should stick around me so I'm not a liability."

Akechi looked around. On second inspection, he looked haggard. The orange light lit his dark circles in clear onceness with the rest of his face. He took Akira's sleeve and walked back toward the group. "I may have to," he huffed. "We're starting up a smaller fire to cook things on, you know. You just have to wait."

"I'm not too good at that..." he trailed off. Futaba could smack him, he was entirely good at that! Akechi seemed to sense so too, replying in a short snort before he walked away, "Get good."  
  
"You- Akechi?! You really-"

"We're just friends," he replied, patting Ryuji's shoulder.

"Even that's a feat in itself... Okay, Akira. If you're serious, I'm rooting for you!" Ann proclaimed, putting her own arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks."

 

  
The group was in a small circle ways away from the fire, munching on chips and smores. Dull conversation carried on in the background, the night filling them in with blue hues and the fire granting them a yellow glow. Crickets came out of the woodwork to add to the noise. Yusuke leaned in ostensibly close, taking up the middle of the circle with his upper half. "Sakura's, you never did let us know how you got here?"

Ryuji had a look of surprise. "Hey, he's right!"

The two siblings shared a look, then a nod. Futaba took a deep breath, but it was Akira who spoke. "I was arrested for an assault I didn't commit." His face was shrouded in shadow while the fire illuminated his back. He felt it's heat on him minutely. He looked at the sky, cursing softly. "I think it was around this time of night, actually. It was close to now, last year. A guy was harrasing a woman-"

"We can't legally tell you his name," Futaba winced.

He nodded, still staring upward. "I tried standing up for her. I-I punched him in the face. The woman- she saw it all. He got so angry he called the cops, except, the woman didn't testify against him. She said I attacked him unprovoked."

"What the eff-"

"He had dirt on her, I checked."

Ann blinked at Futaba, "You checked?"

Futaba stumbled over explaining herself, "I- I hacked his emails, among other-"

Akira smirked, "But that's later in the story. My parents made me move out of my small town, and I stayed in Tokyo with Futaba's father, Sojiro."

"Our father..."

He leaned so far back the fire gleamed in his eyes. "Right. Eventually my parents disowned me. They didn't believe I was innocent, and they didn't want anything with a criminal son. I was staying in Sojiro's house, living with Futaba- trying to prove I was innocent. And the way we proved my innocence is how we're here now."

He twisted his gaze back to earth. Each of his new friend's faces contorted in fury, golden flames danced on their angry countenance. Futaba squeaked, talking until she saw the look on their faces. "We can't go into more details, it's technically an ongoing case- G-guys?"

"That man is  _fucking_  awful," Ryuji nearly screamed.

Ann agreed quietly, her eyes filled with fury. "Your parents are so  _cold..."_

Yusuke finished the thought. "And the justice system failed you, once again proving it is corrupt." 

 "It's not all bad..." he trailed off. "I met Futaba. Sojiro-san, Bossman, he officially adopted me a few months back."

"Still, man!" Ryuji launched himself onto his feet, "These fucking adults!" He kicked at the grass, seemingly ready to hurtle something into the fire. Seeing his glare so focussed, it was easy to imagine how his teacher used his grand sense of justice (and his temper) against him. 

 Ann tugged at his hoodie from her spot on the floor, "Christ's sake, Ryuji, we can't do anything about it now..."

"That's-" he took a deep breath, and Akira thought he saw him huff out smoke like a dragon. He took his seat in the grass. "That's what makes it worse, you know."

 "One of my worst fears," Yusuke began, "is that we will all grow into that same corrupt mindset. A victim of our vice, the very thing we hate..."

"There's no way," Ann replied. "We're stronger than that."

Akira nodded, facing Yusuke in the dark. His hair blended into the night. "I won't let that happen to you."

 Ann and Ryuji voiced their agreements. Futaba was nodding furiously. Yusuke closed his eyes in contentment, "Then I to you. Let us help eachother through the waters of adolescence into the forest fire of adulthood." 

The fire loomed in the distance.


	4. Day 4: Cooking/Free Period

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter after 3 days isnt tooooo bad, right ;^)  
> Tbh my only excuse was that my hands get tired with the angles i hold my phone (my laptop broke so this is all hand typed onna screen bby)
> 
> Also, do you like my ann? I find myself not rly knowing how to give her a personality besides upbeat....

The sun laid tentatively in the east, ever rising throughout the sky. Ominous clouds drifted inward from the far away horizon. A clear warning for storms. "A threat for another day," Shiho said with a shrug and smile to the other counsellors. They agreed for now, all of them standing to varying degrees in their cramped office.

Akechi looked between them as if to say they were too lax, one finger resting on his chin inquisitively. He was dressed in his civilian clothes, his coat overtop him despite the morning frost dissipating into heat. His briefcase at his side. Surprisingly, he opted to stay in his jeans for now. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle the events for a couple of days?"

"Of course," Haru replied. She sat primly in the only office chair. "I know how demanding family can be."

He wanted to wince. He felt his hand tightened against his briefcase instead. "Yes, well..."

"Is it imperative you leave now?" Makoto asked, leaning against a filing cabinet just ways away from Haru. "You're acting rather-"

"It is," he interrupted, staring at them from the entrance to the cabin. He knew his hand would cramp after this. Swallowing lies, he choked out, "If I could stay I would."

A solemn nod. A sad smile. Shiho spoke up next, swinging her legs as she sat on one of the desks. "If you ever feel like you can't handle it, please think of us. This whole camp. Focussing on what's to come makes it easier to live in the moment."

She spoke as if it came from experience. He didn't want to crush her resolve, admit that even a future like that seemed pointless. So he nodded, twisted the handle of the door and stepped out.

He came face to face with Akira Sakura. The boy seemed to take his wardrobe change in stride until logic caught up with him. "You're leaving?"

He gave a smile, or attempted to. This business was hard to grace with courtesy. "Only for a few days. Can you live without me?"

He smiled back, still confused. "I can try. Why are you going now?"

He looked away for a second. Something about this boy made it so hard to lie to his face. When he returned, the pensive look hadn't stopped. If anything it increased, eyes filled with suspicion, confusion, he prayed to God he didn't see pity. "A family matter came up. I have to grace my presence as their son. I'm disappointed as well, but it's actually rather fortuitous it happened so early into the program."

He nodded. "Good luck."

Akira looked to Goro as if he wanted to say more. And Goro would be lying without reason if he said he didn't wish to prolong the inevitable. He continued to block the cabin door, "What about you? It's still rather early for campers."

"I had questions about the schedule. There's an eerily blank spot in the afternoon that I was hoping we could spend together."

"Ah," Goro muttered. "My apologies then, Sakura-kun."

He shrugged. "You can't pick family."

He nodded, perhaps too earnestly. This conversation was veering horribly. "Well, goodbye."

"Wait." Akira called out to his back. If he noticed that Akechi halted a bit more eager than usual, he didn't voice it. "Maybe... we should keep in touch?"

 _My number?_  He swallowed back questions and turned to face the other boy with something polite gracing his face. "It's only for two days..."

"Right, yeah." Akira shrugged. "See you."

Akira watched the other boy walk off, a car clearly waiting on the side of the road for him.  _Is he driving himself? His parents didn't even bother to come pick him up..._ He watched until he reached the car, then continued into the cabin. Shiho perked up instantly, while the other two seemed lost in conversation. She lifted herself off the desk before walking to his side of the cabin. "Ignore them," she smiled, "It's their turn at activities today so they're trying to have a little fun. What's up?"

"Actually," he lifted a paper from his pocket. "I wanted to ask about the schedule. There's nothing else printed for the day."

"Oh, yeah..." she looked over at the other counsellors. "I can't promise the day off, but I can gaurantee it won't be the normal survival training."

He nodded, "Cool."

"Anything else?"

"What's up with Akechi?" He blurted it out, almost ashamed by the burning curiousity he felt.

A shrug, "Family affair, is all he said. It's a bit sad, but he's coming back."

He nodded once more, "Breakfast starts soon, so-"

"It does?" That came from Makoto, now standing at attention. A hurried whisper escaped her lips. "Oh no. With all the occurences, I forgot about the time."

She swore, quickly weaving past office chairs, Shiho and Akira, and all the desks in-between. Haru came straight after her, a hurried "Excuse me!" before she attempted to match the other girl's pace.

"So they're in charge of food today, huh?" He smiled.

She laughed in response, "It'll be fun at least... So, is everyone settling into camp well? It's amazing how little time I have as a counsellor."

"Pretty good," he shrugged.

"Ryuji too?"

That caught him by surprise. "Yeah. You know him too?"

She nodded, "We all went to school together. I mean, I was only Ann's friend at first, but then Ryuji  _did_ get involved in the Kamoshida case and- Oh... They probably didn't tell you. Not without my permission.

She sighed, the words uncomfortable on her tongue. "I was a... victim of Kamoshida. We all became closer after that."

"Oh-" he struggled to find the words. "I-"

"You don't have to say anything," she rushed. "I just- worry for Ryuji. This is his first time away from home. Ann and I don't really care, but I thought he'd be homesick by now."

"He hasn't said anything yet if he is." He leaned against the wall, "I'll ask."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"So..." he weighed the pros and cons, "What's... Akechi like? Around the counsellors?"

She smirked, rolling her eyes. "I expected more of a smooth inquisition. He's more like an actual person and not the robot most campers liken him to. Why?"

He drummed his fingers against his phone. Did he want to admit his suspicions to Akechi's coworker? He needed someone to bounce ideas off of. "He's nicer to me now. It still doesn't feel like he's honest, though."

"Oh," Shiho replied. "Isn't that what it's like around perpetually polite people, though?"

"Not in this way. Even when he was telling me why he was angry at me, I had a hard time believing it... Maybe I don't make sense," he muttered.

"No- I get it. He's always acting as if he has somebody to impress, or thinking of the nicest way to tell someone to -sorry, Ryuji- fuck off..." she bit her lip.

"But should I even care? Is that what you were gonna say?"

She shrugged, "It's his life. Maybe he likes keeping a distance... We'll find out in a few days."

He smiled. "Yeah. Should probably start worrying about myself- and if Haru can cook..."

"Skills aside, the food may be inedible for an entirely different reason," she said with a knowing look.

He groaned. "Can't wait to eat twigs!"

She laughed, finally opening the cabin door, "We should go if you want to eat beforehand."

* * *

Breakfast was filled with a cool dread. Camper after camper watched as Makoto and Haru dragged in twigs, roots, asphodel, and other assorted wilderness treats that they barely had time to acknowledge Akechi's departure. Barely.

"Did he take that whistle with him?" Ann muttered, watching suspiciously from her oatmeal.

"We can only hope." was Yusuke's immediate reply.

There were screams of enjoyment from other tables, some outright calling Akechi names now that he wasn't there to reprimand them.

Ryuji was looking around the room in surprise, "Geez! Dude was outta line a few times, yeah, but he wasn't satan."

The kids not occupied in the festivities were instead grossing eachother out with woodland creatures. One kid, the same who tripped Akira, was waving a worm in his table's faces. "Eat it! You're gonna have to in the wild!"

Futaba was busy on her phone, Ann next to her in the same position when a loud clap went through the cafeteria. They jolted, and everyone turned to face the front. Haru was standing in front of a large table. A cart of items stood behind her, and Makoto next to it. Makoto, who was holding two pots together. What's with these counsellors and loud sounds...

"The lesson will be beginning in ten minutes, so please finish eating before we have to start. We'll be using the cafateria tables and giving you your instructions soon."

"I thought you guys were cooking!" A voice shouted out of the crowd.

"For the first portion, yes. We'll be inside instructing you on how to best prepare a meal. The second portion will be outside. You'll have to make your own fire, prepare the ingredients, and cook as we did."

That got a few loud responses. Even Ann whispered, "Who here can actually cook?"

Akira nodded. Yusuke shrugged, "I'm adequate when it comes to making food for survival. When it comes to taste..."

"Instant ramen..." Futaba muttered.

"Same here," Ryuji replied.

Ann groaned. Her tone shifted to hopeful instantly, "Maybe Shiho will..."

 

  
A line of ingredients lay in front of Haru. Various herbs, seeds, a big pot of water, tree bark... mulch. It became harder to look with each ingredient. She smiled as she turned on the heat of the stove. Her ladle lay in her hand.

"Now," Makoto begins, "If you look at the informational cheatsheet we passed by, we've identified all edible plants and the best way they can be consumed. On the flip side is all poisonous or otherwise  _disagreeable_  plants."

"What we have today is everything from the first section of the first page." Haru said from her worktable.

Makoto smiles. "Correct. They're all grouped together by the fact that they're best suited when in a soup. Soup is also the easiest to make in a place with limited resources.

"The further down the page, the less likely you are to make anything using these ingredients..." she grimaces, "While I have faith you can all survive in the wild, I have doubts many of you could capture and cook a woodland creature for many of the recipes requiring it."

They watched steadily as Haru prepared the soup, some going so far as to take notes for when they attempted their own. Eventually, the tree bark was revealed to be for laughs (the room was littered with relieved sighs at that) and the mulch discarded with it. Herbs, spices, water. It wasn't a fulfilling meal but it got the job done. They continuously reiterated the need for more filler, and talked of how starvation might make one more susceptible to putting bark in their mainstay diet. Makoto sighed, "However, as this is just an example meal you'll get the much nicer version."

It was basically a hot drink. It tasted of watery leaves and odd flavours and slight hints of dirt. Each table took a turn sipping some down before looking over eachother in disbelief. This was what they'd do for a week? This was the eventual bread and butter of a hiking group of mini-criminals?

It got worse once they headed outside. A few who had been celebrating even lamented Akechi's departure, saying he would have at least killed them with his whistle before making them suffer this way. Groups were created and then re-formed as people tried to find someone who could make a fire.

They each had a representative gather ingredients from Shiho. Ann approached, her long jacket hiding the way she slipped extra little things up her sleeve.  _It was good to have a friend on the inside,_  she thought to herself. When she returned she unveiled her spoils with an equal look of surprise and disdain, "Ramen... flavour packets?"

Ryuji shrugged, "Better than nothing!"

The rest was... easy. Akira and Yusuke gathered firewood, rocks, anything they thought could ignite itself into something that tasted good. Futaba's attempts to make the fire went without incident. Then the actual cooking.

"I've made curry before," Akira shrugged. "Soup can't be too hard, right?"

"Ramen too!" Futaba added.

He nodded. "I've worked at this beef bowl place, a bar, and a flowershop."

"How would flowers help us now?" Yusuke asked, not insulting but curious.

Akira looked through his phone before he held up an image, "These ones are actually edible. I heard from a hiker who came in that he survived off them."

At once, Yusuke's eyes lit up. "I've seen those around here before! Excuse me," he announced, walking swiftly into the woods.

"Man," Ryuji whined. "I wanna help too!"

Akira handed him the ladle, "You can stir while I look through our ingredients."

"All right!"  
  
Their finished product (Ramen flavoured flower soup created by a kid who makes curry) didn't taste bad... though it wasn't necessarily good, either. It lacked flavour, minus the sodium, and even the packets didn't do much when they were distilled in a pot big enough to feed five.

"Still," Ryuji ventured, "Ours has to taste the  _best_!"

Futaba nodded shortly, "True. I wonder if bark would have actually..."

"We're  _not_  using bark during the real thing." Ann replied.

"You're not, but-"  
  
Haru clapped her hands together, "Good job everyone! Now, we're handing out the real recipe now in case you need it on your trip! Please, look over it dutifully."

Makoto nods even as she hands them out, "Step four is  _crucial_."

 

>   
>  A RECIPE FOR DISASTER SOUP BY MAKOTO NIIJIMA AND HARU OKUMURA  
>    
>  What you need:
> 
>   *  60 unwilling guinea pigs
>   * Tree bark
>   * Mulch
>   * A lot of water
>   * Seeds
>   * Various herbs
>   * Something to stir with
>   * Your own sense of humour
> 

> 
>  
> 
>   1. Mix all ingredients well into the appropriately sized pot
>   2. Let heat until almost nothing remains but a dark, watery mess.
>   3. Laugh as all the kids choke on your bark soup.
>   4. **FINALLY** , remind everyone that they'll be given protein bars for the entire hiking trip and they'll only need to cook if they use their resources irresponsibly. Serves two laughing counsellors.
> 


  
It's so hard to describe a look of betrayal. Not that it was hard to find, but rather each person looking back at them had their face warped perfectly in their own special way. The counsellors all had a moment to laugh in their faces before they saw confusion making way for anger. "So, that was fun, hm?" Haru smiled. "And now... you get the afternoon free!"  
  
The amount of kids who bolted the minute they could to wash their mouths was obscene. Only a few of them stayed behind, with Ann squinting dangerously at Shiho. The other girl only shrugged in response, a barely sorry look on her face. "It  _was_  funny."

She smiled reluctantly "It was..."

"Still a better meal than what I had nearing my arrest." Yusuke added, smiling.

Ryuji made a face, "That's not much to be proud of, but I getchu. We really gave it our all."

They stayed in a comfortable silence after that, handing Haru their ingredients and equipment before lounging on the grass. It was Akira who unexpectedly broke the silence. "I'm so glad we never have to do that again."

"Right?!"

"Oh my god, yeah."

"Point."

"Never say never, bro..." The sight of Futaba's face being forcefully patted into the ground wouldn't be forgotten for a long time. They spent most of the afternoon like that, because what else could they be bothered to do in the middle of nowhere but admire the nowhere? Akira stretched, and the sky changed above him. Light blue was darkening, with deeper blues bleeding into scene. Ryuji's snores barely connected through the heightened silence that permeated their group. Ann was on her phone; Yusuke was admiring a roaming ladybug as it flitted up his arm. Even Futaba seemed to have fun people-watching the other campers as they escaped in twos to the forest.  
  
Akira faced the sky again.  _I wonder what Akechi's doing._

* * *

Goro Akechi looked up at the same evening sky. His car rested on the cliffside, his own body seated right against the drop. He was too far from any civilized place or camping ground to be hassled for the animosity he was displaying ardently. His phone hung with a weight in his pocket. He was expecting a call. He grabbed for his binoculars instead, his gloved hand finding them easily on the ground beside him. His eyes squinted through the barely setting sun.

 _There_ , in the distance; a man running through the bush, his eyes going near wild in paranoia. His hand clenching on his gun. Goro bit back a sneer. Nobody would be tagging behind him so  _obviously_.

His phone beeped. What timing. Harsh questions reached his ear, then tentative silence. He replied in one. "Yes. I've sent you his coordinates. He's heading west. His gun seems loaded. I cannot say."

More angry shouts he barely heard. He looked again. The man's backpack sagged with a weight. "It's contents are unknown. I could  _guess_  it was the money, but I wouldn't trust such hopeful speculation. The rest is up to you."

He closed the phone on more shouts, wishing he could throw the phone down into the forest below. Instead he gripped the edge tighter, sighing openly. Words wrapped around his throat, nobody there to hear him hiss.

"Family."

His hand itched to the phone minutely. He wished to return back to the campground, where he could pretend this wasn't him.  _Maybe I should have taken Sakura-kun's offer_.. No, he had a commitment. He... liked the solitude, no matter how much talking to somebody not affiliated with his work appealed to him. Two more days of scouting and he could go back.

"Two more days..." he repeated, lifting the binoculars once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whats this ??? Surprise plot ??? In MY camping au? More likely than u thiiiiink :^)))


	5. Day 5: Group Therapy/Indoor Activities

BREAKFAST by... "Now Futaba's missing breakfast?"

Futaba Sakura walked along the grass in companiable silence at Makoto's side. The counsellor called her out before breakfast, saying she had something to speak with her about; yet they hadn't said a word. Futaba takes a breath before speaking, breaking the silence along with a nearby bird. "So... this camp is actually really lax compared to what I was expecting..."

She said it as a compliment (at least that's how Shiho would take it) Instead the counsellor looks dejected. "I know," she sighed. "I opted for more activities but we have to stretch our resources to last two weeks here, one week waylaid."

"What else did you have planned?" If she noticed how quiet Futaba was she didn't question it. They entered the office quietly, the empty room as cool as the outside. Futaba leans against the wall while Makoto moves to close the door, but stops mid-way.

"Back when we had more staff, each camper would have been assigned to an activity based on their group; their group would be decided based on their cabin mates, or who we thought wouldn't be too rambunctious together... needless to say, based on the comments about your anxiety made on the form filled out; you would have been with your brother."

"So... is there anything we're missing out on, technically?" Makoto clutches the doorknob for their office, thought overtaking her actions. 

"We could have thrown a play," Haru jumps out behind Makoto, her hand resting on the others back. Futaba quips to herself,  _I didn't know they were that close._

"It was one of the earlier inventions meant to break people out of their comfort zones." She explains.

Futaba hummed, "Thanks but no thanks. I like my comfort where it is."

"Did you guys fix it yet?" Haru asks precariously close to Makotos ear.

She starts in surprise "Oh, yes! I forgot, but my reason for calling you out was a bit more... technical than you may have initially thought..."

"You need me to fix something?"

"We were told you're proficient in more than cybercrimes. The computer in our office is acting like a..."

"Dumpster fire," Haru said smiling. "Everytime I try to get work done."

"And our printer has been..."

Futaba glanced at their hopeful stares before facing the far wall. "So, I was only interested in machinery a bit before I got into hacking- empty hands and whatever. I can definitely do the computer, but the printer..."

"If you can improve even the smallest error that would be helpful."

"Okay. In this room, huh? I assume you'll be right outside."

They nod. She sets forth into the computer room. It's an old junk trap waiting to die, and the term dumpster fire seemed to actually be going easy on it. She wonders if it would be easier to just give them her laptop... the wait for it to turn on is agony enough. By the time she's found the problem (and the problem was so small that getting her to fix it was honestly overkill) and kicked the printer until it stopped making that weird sound, five minutes may have passed. Yet, when she opened the door to the main cabin area her counsellors were gone.  _Well_ , she wonders,  _they probably thought I would take longer_.  _Half of the time I spent in there was waiting for it..._

She peeks through the cabin blinds, scrutinizing if it would be worth going outside to find them or simply waiting. Then she sees it. In the far horizon, packed by the trees. The blue sky peeking. Two blurred shapes snapped against a tree. She squints and her face breaks into a gasp.

The person pressed against the tree has unmistakable pink hair; and the one that pulls away from the kiss has Makotos distinct silhouette. Is it so traitorous that her first thought isn't to tell Akira, but to ask them how they knew they were gay? To get pointers on wooing the feminine wiles. To rush back from the blinds when she sees them moving toward the cabin, looking none like the people against the tree. Their hands steady at their sides, not locked.

The entrance opens as her door closes, her back against the door as she huffs. She hears a hesitant knock.  
  
"How is it going, Sakura-chan?"

"Uhhhhhh," she wailed before coughing. "Actually, I'm almost done."

"Already?"

She scoffed, her face all red. "It wasn't the most taxing. Just really tedious."

"I see." Makoto replies, "Will you need another minute?"

Futaba thinks,  _do I want to be trapped here longer_? She turns around to open the door the tiniest sliver, her eye the only thing seen. "Not even. It's done."

"Oh! Great!" Makoto moved to enter, then paused at Futabas lack of movement. "Sakura-chan?"

"I... uhm," she turned her head away from the door even though the other girl couldn't see her face. "What do you do in moments when... what you want trumps your logic? W-when the safer answer is so close, but the leap forward would be..."

"Extremely rewarding?" Makoto quotes, " _From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire_. It may be unexpected, but I believe in taking chances. Leaps of faith."

Futaba leans against the door before opening it completely. "Huh. For some reason I thought you'd say that."

She smiled. "Did it help?"

A shy nod follows suit, "Shouldn't I be asking that?" She gestures to the computer behind her. "If it doesn't start up right, then I grossly misunderstood the issue and my level of skill."

"I'll check during lunch. Now, the group therapy should be starting soon. You might have a good twenty minutes for breakfast through."

She groaned. "Great..."

 

Group therapy. The phrase had a weight to it, a constricting confining touch in it's gentle embrace.  _Ryuji_  would proclaim it was the false sense of security. "Group" implying they would all equally participate and sympathize because they all had something in  _common;_ they were all in it together. 'Therapy' which... also... just seemed like  _horseshit_ , especially here.  
  
Akira thought Ryuji had a few bias opinions mixed into his definitions but nodded despite himself. He was right; this was due to suck. With only three counsellors and sixty campers, there would have to be groups of twenty at the least. Nevermind all the kids that seemed not to want to talk at all; or the kids who talked back; or the kids who made fun of the entire process.

Yeah, he could see Ryuji's point. He had a doubt anything near therapeutic would commence. Even Yusuke seemed to be regretting today's schedule, if his sigh upon entering the field was any indication. With solemn hearts they neared the field where the activity would take place. Even the weather seemed to know how they were feeling, the clouds overhead were grey, with blue peeking out. This time it was set up so each group had a good distance away from eachother. The boys saw Ann and Futaba already talking to Shiho, all the kids around them sitting in a circle when they walked over.  _Alright! Maybe this wouldn't be terrible-_

"Shiho?" A tentative voice called out from behind them. The boy came up to the counsellor and tugged at her shirt end, "W-well- our group- can you be the counsellor for us?"

Shiho looked conflicted. It was the first time he'd seen it on her face, a careful pause in her features as her eyes met Ann's. "I don't know... Who's the counsellor supposed to be?"

The boy stumbled through his words, not noticing the silent conversation around him, "I-I don't know yet- I just- Without you..."

Shiho stared at his features. The frantic nerves in his eyes and the way he messed with his hair as he tried to calm himself. "It's okay. You don't have to explain," she laid a hand on his arm, turning to face Ann with an apology, "He really..."

Ann smiled, "It's cool. This is your  _job_ , right?"

She nodded, turning to the rest of them. "See you guys later. I'm sure it will be good."

Futaba seemed the most disappointed, surprisingly. Akira would have to ask later. The three boys standing took places in the circle. Ryuji with his legs sticking out on the left of Ann. Akira practically lying down at Futaba's right, his legs in Yusuke's lap as the taller boy seemed to be taking in the people across from him rather than anything close by. He lifted his head minutely, eyeing the sketchbook Yusuke had put into his lap, propped up by the makeshift table.  _So my legs were good for something._

His eyes closed, his senses muted but for Futaba's hiss, "Did you not sleep last night? 'Cause I didn't and even this is ridiculous."

He waved her off, listening to the conversation around him rather than join in. Sometimes it felt good not having to speak.

"Think it'll be Haru?"

"She's already walking over  _there_!"

"Oh, and there's Shiho... my heart will go on," Ryuji's laughter cut through Ann's melodramatics,

"So, who does that leave?"

"Makoto... Niijima?" Was Yusukes hesitant reply. Akira burst out of his position, his legs scrambling to land in the grass in front of him. Yusuke gasped as his sketchbook went flying, "Really!"

Akira sat upright, grabbing hold of Yusuke's shoulders to latch the other boys gaze onto his. "Niijima? Makoto Niijima?"

"I believe so." Was his incredulous reply. Akira let go of him with a push in the sketchbooks direction. He twisted to face Futaba in a rushed whisper, "Niijima?"

"He could have misheard! They could be not related!  _Bro, stop freaking out_!"

A cough broke through their whispers. Ann and Ryuji had been watching their side suspiciously, Yusuke with a piercing glare as he righted his sketchbook.

Soon, all attention was on counsellor Makoto as she attempted to walk into the circle. Instead she stumbled into it, landing upright only because one of the campers got up to stop her from falling. "Thank you," she mustered before facing the boy who tripped her, her eyes cold. His legs stuck out into the circle like two odd points. "Would you consider  _not_ doing that?"

The boy lifted his head to take in Ryuji, "Why can he do it then?"

Makoto turned to face the other offender, her face going slack as she recognized his hair. "That's... Sakamoto Ryuji?" The boy nodded. "He retained an injury to his leg and has been told not to apply pressure to it. You, Inio-kun, have perfectly working legs."

"Are you  _sure_  his legs are broken?" Said one of Inio's friends.

Her eye twitched, her mouth open to reprimand him. The answer came from behind her. "Uh, yeah. Why would I lie about that?"

They shrugged, "To get out of the hard shit?"

"Maybe you even broke your leg on purpose-" said another one. They started to laugh.  _Oh no_ , Ann thought.  _Why did we get this group_. She felt Ryuji tense minutely, and snuck a hand onto his arm. He made no move to shake it off, but continued talking.

"You think I want a broken leg? This leg's the whole reason I'm friggin' here!"

"Ryuji!" Ann whispered.

He backed down, huffing, "Whatever. You're not worth it."

Silence.

"I'm sure this could already be called a success, sharing emotions like this?" Makoto attempted a smile. "That was... a joke. Okay." she sat on her knees, her clipboard tucked into her side. Akira thinks the person next to her is called Eiko, but he can't be sure. "First, let's go around talking about why we're here. Does... anyone want to start?"

"Why don't you go first?" Somebody asked from across Akira.

She gave a strained grimace. "That's a good point. I am the one trying to make all of you talk, after all. I'm Makoto Niijima, president of my student council."

The Sakura siblings glanced at eachother imperceptibly, both thinking the same thing. 'How did we miss that before?'

"I'm here to further my worldview... and, honestly, my sister believes it looks good on my resume to have previous engagement with 'criminals'."

"Who's your sister?" Akira asks before Futaba can stop him.

She blinks. "Sae Niijima, the prosecutor? Have you heard of her?"

He shakes his head, "You just looked familiar," he offered weakly. The second Makoto returned her attention to the rest he began texting Futaba.

 **AKIRA** : FUCK  
**FUTABA** : FUCK

 

A lot of kids were here from a lot of petty to near-murderous crimes. Stealing from a general store to assaulting a man 'til, in his words, "You couldn't tell his face from his ass!" And they were all proud of it, by the way their eyes shifted to capture the other kids reactions. They craved validation from their empty acts of rebellion. As if doing any of their petty crimes, for reasons that stemmed from 'He looked at me the wrong way,' to 'just felt like it' deserved anything but utter scorn.

When it came turn to say his spiel, Ryuji felt sick. He was so pissed he was almost trembling. "I'm Ryuji," he muttered, shaking his head. "I beat up my teacher for being a megalomaniac piece of shit."

He got cheers from the whole crowd. It still felt empty. He grit his teeth. "You don't get it...None of you know what going against a real villain feels like. I... Ugh! Eff this..."

"Ryuji." He looked up to see counsellor Makoto looking at him with eyes steeled for rejection. "Can you keep talking? I know it may be hard, but... this is what they need."

He sighed. He saw her point, though that didn't make it any less annoying. "You're all imagining him as some potbelly ass who would tell me to shut up in class, as if telling me to stop chewing gum is enough for him to get hit- He was twelve hundred times worse. He-" his voice stops in his throat. "He treated us worse than dogs because he didn't give a  _shit_  about our team. He abused kids on the volleyball team, because nobody there was willing to say a word. He had this power over the entire effing school!"

"...He raped girls." Ann added gloomily from his side.

"He broke my leg," Ryuji nodded confidently. "So, can you all chill on beating people for looking at you wrong? There are people out there who deserve that shit- and then there's the senseless violence you spout as if it's- it's fucking cool!"

"Are you talking about Kamoshida?" A nameless voice called from the fray of silent teens.

His hands gripped his thighs, his shorts scrunching as he bit the inside of his mouth. Ann's breathing hitched at his side. Right. His name wouldn't have been released to the public. To the rest of the world he was that faceless teen who crippled Kamoshida. "Even hearing his name... Yeah. I'm talking about  _that_  Kamoshida. So, you get it?" He lifted his head to watch every face in the crowd. "Nod yes, you assholes!"

Makoto begins to cough, her mouth stopped mid-way  _again_  as another voice comes out of the fray. "Didn't that shit happen months ago? Why are you here now?"

That brings a smile, some of the normal Ryuji back as he grins, "They had a real tough time on my case. Everyone knew Kamoshida was an asswipe, but they couldn't prove what I did was anything but a revenge beating... I still think it was justice."

"Is it true?"

He made a questioning noise in return, but it was Ann who asked the next question. Her tone took on something predatory, something he knew was practiced in love hotels. "You mean, about him ever  _walking_  again...?"

Their grins matched as he chucked a thumb at himself. "Eye for an eye, and all..."

The group seemed in awe. All except for the three next to them, who had heard a description of what had happened. Still, even they sat shocked at how the others seemed to focus on Ryuji as a symbol of their delinquency. Yusuke began to sketch their faces of amazement, their own counsellors the most subdued, subtle glow of pride. "Thank you, Sakamoto-kun."

She nodded at Ann to speak. "I'm here because Ryuji is!" She slung an arm around him. Her smile waned slightly as she added, "...And my parents think I'm doing compensated dating."

"You're innocent?" Makoto inquired.

She stared ahead, as if truly in thought before breaking it to cheekily grin at the counsellor. "Yeah. Nothing  _I_  consider bad."

That was a great deflection, Makoto thought despite herself. She nodded as if satisfied.

Futaba shrunk into her brother's side, her knees hugged against her as she stared into the dirt. Makoto belatedly remembered her anxiety, the words about to fall out of her mouth to excuse Futaba from a turn.

"...Futaba Sakura. I'm mandated by law not to tell you what crimes I've commited... though they're of a federal nature."

"Akira Sakura. Same."

That got a few 'ohhhs'. He shrugged. It was just enough of the truth for them not to pry.

Or so he thought. "Sakura's. You were both listed under different smaller offenses, not a crime of that... caliber. If what you say is true, why were you brought to our camp rather than somewhere for federal crimes?"

Makoto was as smart as her sister. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he spoke. "We had a  _really_  good lawyer."

  
"Yusuke. Theft. Loitering."

  
Then it ended on Eiko getting sold by her boyfriend. Makoto reached for her clipboard, "Thank you, everyone. Now..."

* * *

"You did it because your mother was against it?"

"No!" came the immediate reply. The kid was stealing glances at Ryuji as he spoke, "It was cool! I-mean I thought it was cool."

"You've changed your mind already?"

He turned red in embarrassment, shrugging as he combed a hand through his hair. "Things... got put into perspective."

The kid next to him hit him with an elbow, "Dude."

"What?" he stared at his friend.

The kid replied facing him, but his answer was directed at Ryuji. "I'll never regret what I did. Fuck if it's petty- fuck if it wasn't right. I'm not here to be justice jizzed on by a guy who, in the end, ended up the same place I am."

An agreeing voice piped up from across him. "'... What does it matter if what you did was right? Everyone else still sees you as a criminal."

Akira could relate to that... On his stay in Tokyo he was seen as a criminal before he even entered school. He was registering when Kamoshida got hurt, and instead of allowing him to join (and 'risking' the safety of more students) he was denied. He opted for online courses while staying at Bossman's place... which was how he eventually met Futaba.

He caught the tailend of Ryuj's speech in his thoughts. "What they think doesn't matter as long as you know the truth."

That was true, but not good for everyone. "...You have to live with it. Live with random people instantly distrusting you." Akira said, truthfully. "Find the people who don't react horribly. They're usually better friends."

* * *

"That wasn't terrible..." Ann trailed off, lifting herself off the ground with a stretch. She offered Ryuji a hand, "Are you okay with all of them knowing?"

Ryuji shrugged. They began walking back. "It's not like I was gonna hide it. Yusuke, why didn't you mention Madarame?"

He lifted his head away from his sketchbook, "Explaining my story thrice seemed overzealous when all the people who I want to know already do."

"That's kinda sweet," Ann smiled. "...But thrice? Shouldn't it be twice?"

He shook his head, small flits of grass landing on the ground below. "The counsellor... Haru and I had a very enlightening talk before I joined you at the bonfire." At their silence he surged forward, "At once, she was already more understanding than the police. She never attempted to discredit me, despite her insinuation that her father and mine are linked through some larger third party and the same social circle- rather, that only added to her convincement."

"Her father?"

"Yes. Perhaps you've heard of their company... Okumura foods?"

Ryuji's jaw dropped. Futaba was furiously whispering, "What?! That's who her dad is?"

Akira felt something shift in the air. He knew saying his next thought would only amplify the sudden tenseness. "I talked to her once... She said she was here to escape her father."

Futaba pulled up several articles on her phone. "They've been accused of horrible things! Working their employees to death, cutting wages when they feel like it, caring only about money.."

"Do you think... he's the same to his daughter?" Ryuji ventured.

"I don't know. If him and a con-artist share friends..." Ann replied.

"It would make more sense than any alternative."

They walked back to their cabins in thought.

None of them were too hungry, opting instead to do their own thing. Futaba popped her head in (after knocking) to see if the computer worked. Akira stared up at the ceiling while Ryuji chucked a ball at it. Yusuke scrutinized both of their forms. Ann texted Shiho.

* * *

Goro breathed a sigh of relief. He had chased two targets to a dead end, a natural blockade in the form of an unclimbable area of rock. He had been calling out locations for his father's men, and now they surrounded the two. Their guns caught the light. He stared unthinking as the actions went underway. Pleading; begging; violent noise that disrupted birds from nearby trees, their flight just narrowly missing Akechi from his ledge; silence. This was the business his father wanted him to take up? This was what his mother, frightened and confused, ran away from?  
  
It was so easy to ignore if you just. Stopped. Thinking. He edged away from his vantage point, calling the gruff voice once more. "Next one?" he spoke to the silence. Coordinates were texted back at him. He slipped quietly into his car, eventually driving further than the road would go, taking a detour into the grass.  
  
One more day... and then a lot of driving. Normalcy would return to him, these woods would look less like a wartorn playground, and he might have a friend waiting for his arrival.

* * *

After lunch Haru stood at the entrance to the caf, gesturing into the building for the next activity. Inside, the cafeteria room stood in stark contrast to what it usually was. Tables were bunched together in groups, items laid atop them. Makoto explained. "Indoor activities range from: painting, carving, crafting, basket weaving... or, if you brought something from home we're giving you permission to use it. Books, boardgames... not phones." That got public outcry, "It's still a mandatory period of activity. And it's due to start raining. What if you got your phone wet absent mindedly?"  
  
She continued, "Painting will be overseen by Counsellor Haru; I will be with the wood carvings; Counsellor Shiho is at basket weaving; and arts and crafts will be unsupervised."  
  
Yusuke said his goodbyes as he drifted toward the paint supplies, magnetically pulled. He was scrutinizing the consistency of the paints with a fine eye, finally giving Haru a thumbs up from across the easels when he recognized the brand. "The paints we had were abysmal, so I ordered some..." she explained as he reached into his own pocket for a brush.

"I once envisioned painting using nature... tree sap, honey, the dirt after rain," his eyebrows scrunched. "I have to admit, I'm glad my brush won't suffer for my art."

She smiled, "Me too."

The rest of the group gravitated towards basket weaving. Shiho gave them all premade bases, little crosses for them to begin weaving around. She started to show them the easiest way to braid together willow shoots. Within ten minutes, Ryuji created an odd mess that looked more like a wig fit for Medusa; Ann barely had a line finished, most of her attention spared to chatting with Shiho or her phone; Akira was trying to split the ends of his shoot into even thinner ends; and Futaba was only holding onto her bits for show, her phone taking up the entirety of her time. And if Futaba noticed the glances Makoto spared to Haru every five minutes or so, she hadn't thought to mention it.

"So," Shiho said. "Have fun during your therapy session?"

That stilled all movement as if time paused. Even Yusuke looked up from his canvas at the odd feeling. Akira broke it with a shrug, going back to breaking his bundle. Ann laughed awkwardly at the same moment Ryuji replied, "It got a little outta hand... but yeah."

"People were exactly what you would expect." Ann surmised.

Shiho smiled, "Think they learned anything from it?"

Akira split a hair thin end into another two ends. "Yeah," he replied.

"I hope so!"

"They better after all the talkin' I did..."

Futaba shifted in her spot, adjusting her glasses, "Well- they're obviously going to idolize you, Ryuji. Your past is like the tragic injustice every shounen hero faces, where they go against the grain to do what's right."

"Really?" He seemed happy.

"I'd predict a sixty-nine percent rise in respect from the neighboring campers, and a seventy five percent chance of rain tonight."

"How certain are these statistics?" Shiho asks, her smile playful as she finishes the lower half of her basket.

"The weather report was from the local news, so-" Futaba paused as they heard the first drops hit the roof above. She gave a small smile of triumph.

By the end of the night they'd finally abandoned all pretense, as if the rain washed away their cares. Yusuke lifted his painting to seat himself next to their table, his palette lodged in his hand and his brush caught between his teeth for the move. The rest discarded their baskets to converse aound Shiho while she, the ever dutiful counsellor, finished her small basket with a flourish and a throw of it behind her, where it landed with a thud.

Ann clapped sardocnially; marvelling at her friend. "If only I knew how to do that."

She laughed, "I just showed you!"

"If only!"

"I'm finished!" Yusuke announced, brush still lifted in the air from it's last stroke. The rest rushed to see his canvas' contents. A landscape opened before them; muted blue forest floor, a tumultuous green sky overhead. Pale yellow clouds rolled into view from either side, and the shadows on the earth floor were pitch black. A red sun set above it all, a cat's eye protruding out its middle. The first comment past a noise of confused amazement was Ryuji's. "It's... I know it's the campground, but what is it?"

"Us," he replied, confident. "Each colour is one of us."

"Did you steal this idea off featherman-"

"You know," Ann started to mutter, "I recognize your style from one of Madarame's works."

He gasped, "That is both a great compliment in my consistency and an insult to my versatility... Yet it's incredibly likely you have."

"Which colour is who?" Shiho asked from behind them.

He leaned toward it, pointing to each specific hue and yet not disturbing the canvas with his fingerprints; his hand lay centimetres from touching it's surface. "Ann, I believe, is red. Bright, volatile, and full of passion. I am the blue, holding great depth and potential. Futaba is green; dangerous ("You bet I am!") and creative. Unique. Akira, I had a hard time placing... he's black, for now. A solid tint, one that promotes stealth and an air of security."

Ryuji slapped Akira on the back, "That's not half-off! You did call yourself a phantom thief the first time we met. Okay, what am I?"

Futaba spun around the second she heard  _their_  name. The conversation continued around them. "Ah, Ryuji... You're yellow because of your hair."

"W-what? Really?! That's all I..." Ryuji's sputtering was only half funny when Akira could feel Futaba's glare burn the tips of his fringe, and he knew shrugging away her concern would only give him hell. He took out his phone, nodding to her as he texted. She beat him to it.

 **FUTABA** : phantom thief???????????? **FUTABA:**  THE FIRST DAY HERE u call urself a PHANTOM THIEF ? ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ︵┻━┻

Yusuke's laugh was unfamiliar in the background. "I'm kidding. You're a spark of emotion, you buzz with activity... you come off as very yellow to me."

 **AKIRA:**  i forgot about it since  
**AKIRA:**  thought ryuji did too

"I'll take that as a compliment. Geez, is the day over already?"

 **FUTABA:**  u THOUGHT BRO U FUCKIN THO ught  
**FUTABA:**  if any of them find outjrkrkdmgn

Akira looked up to see Futaba's attention pulled by the same hand pulling her phone above her head. Ann looked between them with a smirk, "I know It's hypocritical of me, but maybe you shouldn't be on your phone when everyone's about to clean up."

Futaba looked around with a squeak. It was true. The activities were being piled up and put away for another day. Discarded projects thrown into loose bins or taken by the campers back to their dorms. "...I see your point."

Ann lowered the phone back into her grabby hands. "It's a really great work, Yusuke."

He smiled, "It was only one afternoon's work. Truthfully, I find it lacking in true emotion, an ongoing struggle of mine: conveying my pure feelings in the piece."

They walked back to their cabins, Yusuke shielding his work under Ryuji's hoodie while Ryuji ran for the cabin, bare faced and scrambling. Futaba and Akira were texting, faces covering their phones.

 **FUTABA:**  u didnt tell them anythng else, did u???  
**AKIRA:**  ...  
**FUTABA:**  the fact u even have to think about it!  
**AKIRA:**  phantom thieves, a niijima, and you mentioning what we did was a federal offense  
**AKIRA:**  i think thats all we have to worry about  
**FUTABA:**  ARGHHHH i wouldve never said that if i knew u called us phantom thieves!

Akira shifted in bed, expecting to find Ryuji asleep. Instead he was furrowed deep into the light of his phone, texting as rapid as Akira was. "You good?" he muttered. Ryuji jumped in place before giving a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, perfect. Thought you were asleep," he replied, never looking away from his phone or losing the anxious look in his eyes.

An idea brinks the outer reaches of his mind. "I'm starting to miss home," he lies. He missed Sojiro, but nothing about Tokyo was familiar except the house he stayed in.

"You too?!" Bingo. "That group therapy made me realize how different this place is- I'm trying to ask my mom to visit without getting, you know, too whiny. Her work schedule is usually shit..."

"Good luck."

So Ryuji was homesick. He had something to tell Shiho. Ryuji muttered a, "Night, bro." finally tossing his phone somewhere on the bed and twisting to face the other wall. Akira went back to his own phone.

 **AKIRA:**  nobody knows everything  
**AKIRA:**  were fine  
**FUTABA:**  that doesnt reassure me like it should....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a mock up of the painting using snapchat lmao
> 
>  
> 
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> 
> [Mock of Yusukes Painting](https://78.media.tumblr.com/b59a4e4b98d9e6bcbb39b1a77f9295ff/tumblr_oyllgdbqD81rsi59co1_400.png)


	6. Day 6: Rain Day/Reunion

It wasn't that he was hard to find, but rather that Goro was the one who found him first. A dangerous man backed safely into a corner. Pleading; begging; nobody else to do the violence. Nobody else around to incite the silence. He could wait for his father's men to arrive... or finish it for them. The way he watched them perform it, as if an angel in the clouds. He looked up at the morning, bare pink peeked out beyond the orange of the sunrise. He gave a small smile, centering in on the look of the sky.

He asks the man, "Surely, this isn't a bad sight to die to?"

* * *

Rain. Torrents of rain that hadn't ended since last night. Downpour, upspill, beyond illegal torrents of Kuroshitsuji doujinshi Futaba would deny vehemently. It rained cats and dogs (they made a note to keep an eye out for Morgana). It made all the grass damp, then wet, then near mud for the more exuberant campers to run through to reach the mess hall. Ryuji was one of them, each step landing thunderously, uprooting muck with each slap against the earth. His hoodie held overtop him as he ran.

A storm came to their small camp and there was no doubt all activities were cancelled. Akira could have an aneurysm. Now would have been the perfect time to hang out with Akechi! Alone, in a cabin, watching the rain drip down as they... He beat his fist into his pillow, then smashed his face against it in a silent scream. His tired ears took in the rain as he lied down alone on his bedspread. The sound of harsh droplets only taunting him further at the thought of him leaving for breakfast. The building was so close, yet so far... He sighed. He didn't want to end up like Ryuji (running for cover), but it was obvious he'd get dirty anyway. He sits up, begrudgedly sliding from his sitting position to reach under his bed in one sweeping motion, his hands catching hold of a rattier pair of shoes he was planning to use for the hike. _These will do._

He searched his suitcase for something he wouldn't mind getting muddy; then, at the realization that he actually liked his clothes, he went searching through Ryuji's drawers instead. "!F@#$ THIS FAKE $HIT!" Stared at him in white, a red backdrop behind it. He grabbed the hoodie he used yesterday, lifting it above his head rather than putting it on; what were the chances of him getting sick?  
  
When he landed inside the caf, his sprinting form nearly ambushing two kids hanging around the entrance, his body was near shivering. He wrapped his hoodie around himself, still using it incorrectly, before searching for his friends. The room was a mass of wet kids. He texted futaba who instantly rose her hand out of the mess of children congregated into the only warm and dry space.

 _Not that you'd be able to tell by the mud tracked in_. Akira passed by kids attempting to push their friends into the dirt, laughing jostling bunches that went slightly quiet when he came around. Huh. Was that an effect of Ryuji's or his own admission? What was scarier to teens, people who incapacitate scum or go against the government...

He sat down contemplating. It seemed none of the counsellors were ready to work, all of the breakfast being taken care of by the lunchladies (Meredith, Lativia, and Satana), who smiled as he did the same.

"Dude." Ryuji stated as he sat down. "What does kissing up to the lunchladies even accomplish?"

"I get bigger servings."

Yusuke perked up immediately, hand pausing on his pencils grip. "Really?"

Akira gave him a knowing grin, "Meredith has watched the same soap opera since it started airing thirty years ago, and she loves talking about it; Lativia is a dangerous gossip who's never been caught speeding though she's been in three car chases; and Satana used to star in black and white films."

He watched as Yusuke intently scribbled his notes. "Interesting. Although not the same as ours, they've tempered storms." He muttered.

"That's actually kinda cool!" Ann laughed, "You forget that old people have lived for so long, you know?"

Ryuji scratched his neck in thought, "I just hope when I'm their age that I'm not running a soup station for a buncha kids like us."

"I mean, this and your grocery store dream aren't that different."

"There's a way bigger difference!"

"Grocery store?" Futaba questions with a snort, "You always surprise me with how weirdly  _homey_  you are."

"Why? Whaddya expect me to do?"

"Mmm... something a bit cooler, honestly. Racecar driver? General nuisance?"

"Bigfoot investigator." Ann agreed (?), nodding along with Futaba.

"I think I shouldn't feel insulted... yet- Hey!" Ryuji interrupted himself with a yell, "That's my shirt?!"

Akira shrugged, "Couldn't find much to wear."

He narrowed his eyes, yet his sentence was punctuated with a laugh. "Right... on the day of the great flood, you wanna rock my awesome shirts? Eff off-"

The entrance opened with a thud, both doors hitting their adjacent walls as cloaked figures walked in from the torrential rain. They carried large bundles in their arms, their backs highlighted as the first burst of lightning kept the rest of them in shadow.

Their hoods obscuring any detail, their silent entrance from a seemingly never ending-storm. The whole room was silent as they watched. The doors closed in accordance with the wind. Then one stepped forward, stumbling to carry their load and unveil themselves at the same time. It was with a clumsy hand they realized it was Makoto underneath, drenched in sweat or rain, and relieved sighs echoed through along with sneering, laughing, chiding voices.

"I knew it!"

"Fuck I was so scared!"

"Thought we got illuminati'd!"

Ann huffed in relief.

"Oh come on," Ryuji looked at her in surprise, "Did you think some cult was really gonna go after us?"

"You don't know! The government is covering up crazy shit _all the time._ "

"This is because you watched The X Folders with Shiho last month, isn't it."

"Which season!" Futaba called out to the loud caf. Just at that moment, Makoto began to speak, revealing the bundle in her hands to be more raincoats.

She sighed heavily, "Activities have to be cancelled today. At this rate we may have to hold multiple classes in a day. For now, if one person from each table could bring everyone raincoats, we can at least lower your chance of catching a cold."  
  
Raincoats were passed around little too late, with most teens shedding their outer layers to remain shirtless; their girlfriends cooing in their slightly dampened make up, wringing their shirts dry. Ann smirked as she turned to Ryuji doing the same, his purple shirt hanging over the side of the table as he looked on at the uncomfortable raincoat. She simpered, "Ooh, yeah- show me that wet dog look," along with a laugh.

Ryuji laughed back, "Compared to all the wet ferrets around here..."

She wrinkled her nose, an onslaught of nasally laughter reaching her. "All the fake niceties they do to get a boy..."

Futaba watched them close, eyes wide as she sat on the table. "How did you get Ryuji then?"

Ann laughed. She bent over cackling. Her head hit the table on the way down, but they could still hear gibberish mumbled amidst the laughter. Ryuji just looked towards her with a frown, "My mom told me to stay away from girls like Ann."

Futaba stared at him for more explanation.

He shrugged, "The travelling type."

She lifted an eyebrow.

He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced when it came back wet, "you know... the exciting type."

She lifted both eyebrows.

"You KNOW- the dangerous type who castrate men when they've wronged her! My mom was real specific!"

Futaba tugged Yusuke into view to tug on his eyebrows. He stood next to the table. "If I may say," Yusuke said beyond the hands obscuring his face, "It does make sense. You are less volatile than you come across."

"Thanks, dude."

"Like an overly excited dog."

His smile fell. "Thanks... dude?"

"Perhaps a pug, although they're seriously malformed..."

Akira laughed silently at Ryuji's face. Somehow in the short time they'd been distracted, Makoto and Haru ran off in pursuit of more raincoats, leaving Shiho in charge. Shiho began to speak, and Futaba lifted her hands as if burnt to watch her. "So, meals will be at the usual times. If the rain doesn't let up by tomorrow- we may have to prepare for something worse."

"Please stay at your or other's cabins for the whole of today- this room is also free, but you're not mandated to stay. Phones will be allowed for today."

Ann got up from her space on the ground grumbling, "It's not like they're going to work, though..."

"And... that's it! Try to enjoy the freedom," she smiled before watching the window for her co-counsellers to return.

Akira turned to face the rest of them. "Our cabin?" He asked, to the deflation of the girls. "You have the npcs in your room, right?"

"The what?" Ann asked, smiling at Futaba as if she already knew.

She rolled her eyes, "Those two girls, whoever they are. Anyway, I'm fine with your cabin- but what about my laptop! I can't bring it over in the rain!"

Akira lifted his raincoat, "Or could you?"

Hiding a laptop at a wilderness camp in the first place seemed hard. Hiding a laptop in broad  ~~sunlight~~ \- open rainy day covered in two raincoats and held by five teens trying desperately not to look suspicious, or move in such a way as to get mud on it was a challenge. But it was a challenge they could face- and by the look in their eyes their determination was set, even when Futaba lost her footing in the mud. In fact, they just let her fall, taking hold of her side for her. It was a bit terrible to experience but Futaba knew it was necessary.

What wasn't necessary was Ann snapping a photo of it, she thought. She ran ahead to get the door to the cabin ready for everyone else, mud clearly covering one side of her coat. They edged in slowly, leaving the laptop on the one unoccupied bed.

"Okay!" Ryuji whipped off his raincoat, his wet shirt clinging uncomfortably cold underneath. "You guys know any cardgames?"

* * *

 

He did it. He shot him. He could no longer linger on specifics and pretend he was just a puppetmaster in a game, a nameless voice shouting out instructions. He was the pawn, the hand that cradled faces into death, a hand that snatched cases of cash before making a break for his getaway vehicle. His lungs tore into his ribs. His legs carried guilt and gun and bittersweet reward.  
  
 He was no longer an accessory to murder; he was a murderer.

* * *

 

>  RAINY DAY ACTIVITY LIST BY SAKURA SIBLINGS

  * Strip Poker (but we strip back emotional layers (⇀‸↼))
  * Featherman Scene Re-Enactment
  * A rain dance in REVERSE
  * More Akechi Photos
  * Old Maid
  * Help Counsellors



  
  
REASONS TO OPPOSE SAKURA SIB'S RAINY DAY ACTIVITY LIST

> 1\. Emotional Strip Poker

Ryuji flopped onto his bed in protest. "I had enough emotional shit yesterday, man! Group therapy was exhausting!"

The group sighs as a collective. "Yeah..."

>  2. Featherman Scene Re-enactment

Ryuji twisted around on his bed, looking like a possessed dreidel. "I don't even watch that much featherman! I bet Yusuke hasn't seen a single ep!"

"Featherman?" Yusuke asked. Futaba gasped before showing him the start of an episode on her laptop. All he could get out was, "It seems to have an appalling visual appeal-" before he was shut down with a pillow to the face.

> 3\. A rain dance in REVERSE

Ann looks conflicted, eyeing her phone in her hand and the three boys in front of her. "Do you think if I record the reverse raindance and play that in reverse, the rain spirits would get confused or mad?"

> 4\. More Akechi Photos

A laugh. A holler. A sigh.

"Aw! If I had more pictures I really would show you!"

"It's been two days, you'll live!"

"Bro, how did you sneak this on the list?"

Yusuke's quiet contemplation, "I wonder if I can sketch him from memory..."

>   
>  5\. Old maid

A shrug. "Old maid sounds fine."

Ann looks up from her phone smiling, "I'm actually pretty good at that!"

Yusuke lowers his sketchbook, "I'm intrigued, though inexperienced."

"You've never played?"

He shakes his head, "It was never pertinent, nor did I have anyone to play with."

There are few times where Yusuke shines past his eccentricities, showcases his deep level of intellect and reminds them of how much people watching he did to end up where he is now. Nobody's pokerface seemed to phase him, and it was after his fifth win that he put the cards down. "So, this is what I've been missing."

Ryuji sighed, "I'm glad we didn't start betting anything."

Futaba's eyes shined like coins, "How easy would it be to trick other campers into taking on innocent, never-played-in-his-life Yusuke?"

Ryuji high-fived Futaba as they ignored their cards in lieu of discussing the creation of an illegal gambling ring in the camp. Ann looked on with a sigh, her phone still not sending Shiho any messages. In fact, the only thing Futaba's laptop was good for was all her weird music playing in the background.  
  
"What was the last one on the list?" Ann asked. She peeks at the list and the time. "Oh! I guess we can go see how they're doing!"

Ryuji stretches, "It's about time for lunch too!"

"I wonder how Shiho's holding up."

Futaba stammered, "I... gotta ask counsellor Makoto something."

"We can check on the counsellors; you guys get lunch?" Akira asked. Yusuke's stomach growled. "I think that's the only answer we need," Ann laughed.

Ryuji looked between them all, "Don't get mad if they're outta your favourite shit,  _Ann."_

She snorts as she followed the siblings outside into the rain, hoodies up as they made their way past almost every cabin. They're about to enter when Futaba knocks instead. "J-just in case," she explains without explaining much. The door opens on Shiho, who lets them in immediately to shelter them from the rain.

"Hey," she smiled. "Counsellor visit or friend visit?

"...Both! We wanted to see if you need help," Ann explained. Akira nodded behind her. "Or, I don't know, more old maid."

"While I'm tempted, we actually have more business going on than you'd think." She gestures to the open laptop someone left on the desk, a walkie talkie next to it, and a map.

"Our computer's still too slow in a crisis, so we brought this out. We're trying to see if the roads are closed, just in case this turns into something worse."

"Well, so far? We can't get a hold of anyone," she declared sadly. A smile sneaks onto her face regardless, "Trying our best, though."

Akira looked outside. It felt wrong to mention Ryuji's homesickness in front of the others. Even though he knew they wouldn't use the information wrong. "It seemed like the rain was starting to loosen up."

"I hope so," she quips. "Imagine if Akechi-kun came back in this kind of weather..."

Akira starts, his eyes wide, "I didn't even think about that!"

 Ann gave him a look. It was a mix between adoration of his cute crush and the urge to squeal at the sincerity of it. Akira promptly elbowed her. She laughed, "I didn't say anything!"

 They laughed until the walkie talkie on the table spit out a message. Static and rain filtering in, with Makoto's voice barely above the white noise. "The lunchladies need help getting to their cars. I would appreciate assistance."

 "Cars? They don't live in the cabins?" Futaba questioned. "W-wait, they want to...?"

Shiho replied, voice curious. "They want to go home in this weather?"

Radio static. Makoto's sigh reaches their ears. "One of them is quite adamant about it."

"That would be Lativia." Akira said, shrugging. "She's lived a dangerous life."

Ann looked conflicted. "We can help with that! Uh, I mean... Can we?"

"How hard can it be?" Futaba said with a determined stare. Akira nodded.

Shiho gave them thankful smiles, "I'm sending over some campers to help." She instructed them on the back entrance to the cafeteria that would be easier to get out of, waving them goodbye as she closed the door.

* * *

 

He inhaled. His finger tapped against the wheel as trees past him on a film reel; the same distinct shapes floating by as he delved further into forest floor.  
  
His eyes settle on his fingers. The fingers on the hand that touched the gun that killed the man. He didn't know why that made it different. Why it ran his nerves into the ground and then back into his body, only this time as filthy as his soul. He had no answer for the quick glances he stole into the rearview, knowing fully well the man was dead and the only thing following him was his own tiretrack trail and that was only when he veered too off course because he was looking in the  _mirror_  again.  
  
 He exhaled.

* * *

"So, we finally got her to the car-"

"I thought the rain swept her wig away?"

"One of them. She really is a cool, dangerous grandmother," Ann nodded as she took the last bite of her sandwich. "When you're named Lativia, maybe it comes naturally."

"And that's why you took so long?" Yusuke asked from his spot on his bed, rearranging his flowers.

"Pretty much. Futaba stuck around Makoto for something. You know what, Akira?"

He looked up from his chip bag, "Surprisingly, no."

"Huh," came Ann's muffled reply as she took Ryuji's popcorn.

"Hey!"

"You stole my drink!"

"...Wanna play old maid for the bag?"

Yusuke destroyed them.

 

  
  
Makoto spoke as she mopped. "Thank you  _again_ for sticking around, Futaba. It would be too taxing on the janitors to clean this mess alone."

Her mop dipped forward as she looked up, "N-no problem!" They worked in companionable silence, the only two in the large cafeteria, working on different sides of the room. They had been at it for almost an hour. "Actually..." she stared at the muddy tiles in front of her. "Uhm..."

"Yes?"

"Counsellor M- Niiji- Mako-" her hands gripped the mop like a sword as she yelled, "S-so!"

Makoto looked up at the stammering girl, "Yes? Are you okay?"

"Yeah-No-I'm-Fine." She steadily began her work again, perhaps too enthusiastic with the swirls of her mop. She swallowed her worries and trudged on. Her eyes seeked out the floor. "Have you attempted, Niijima-san, to look into me and my brother's past in any way?"

The silence rang through the room as their mops stopped in syncrasy. Makoto shifted herself minutely before deciding on the truth. "The thought had occurred, but I was too busy to execute it."

"..."

"Are you trying to tell me not to?"

Futaba nodded her head, then realized Makoto likely wasn't watching her from her post. "Yes." The ball was stuck in her throat again. It bobbed like a freakish rendition of an adams apple, silencing her before she could croak out a word.

"Sakura-chan, you realize as a counsellor it's my duty to make sure if you're in any way a threat to our camp-"

No.  _No._  She spoke around it, "Y-you're not going to, because... if you do," the next words were a whisper, "I'm going to tell everyone about your relationship with the daughter of Okumura Foods."

Quiet.

"The president is Haru's father, right? I checked. And I saw you two together in the forest..."

Quiet.

"I don't _want_ to tell anyone." She explained to the enveloping silence. In the time they'd been cleaning, the rain drizzled into a pour. She heard it before she heard the other girl's breathing.  
 "But I care about my brother and I more." Futaba began to mop again, "You get it, right?"

She heard Makoto's harsh sigh before she saw the mop crash against the floor. Through grit teeth the girl replied, her face a grimace. "I get it. Blackmail. Though," she looked up, her eyes glinting in the light, "For you to pull this stunt, the information hidden about you and your brother must be equally extreme."

Sweat dripped down her forehead in the cold, dark room. "I won't tell anyone, so..." she repeated.

"I understand. And I think... I've used up too much of your time."

"Huh?"

"You should go join your fellow campers."

"Uh- I mean, if you want me to."

"I do."

 Futaba set aside her mop against a wall. She had her head down, making herself as small as possible before she exit. She had her raincoats hood up during the entire walk out, although all she felt were minute drops against her. The clouds above were still grey looming giants, but it seemed the rain had finally let up.

 

 

"What the hell kind of tell is that? You sneeze whenever someone's about to pick the joker!"

Akira watched through squinted eyes, "Maybe I want the joker-" his phone began to ring. "Hey, we can text again."

The two blonds immediately went to their phones. ("I got my mom!" " _I_  got your mom too." "That wasn't funny the first time, dude! Eugh!")

Rolling his eyes, Akira fixated himself on his own phone.  
  
**FUTABA:**  i fixed it  
**FUTABA:**  or ruined it  
**AKIRA:**  why do i think youre not talking about the weather  
**FUTABA:**  IT  
**FUTABA:**  we dont have to worry abt makoto anymore because..........  
**FUTABA:**  i blackmailed her.... wooooo  
**AKIRA:**  how  
**FUTABA:**  shes dating haru  
**FUTABA:**  she seemed rly mad. i mean i expected it. and i had to do it. rite?  
**AKIRA:**  boss said we couldnt let anyone find out  
**AKIRA:**  now, even if she does know she wont do anything about it  
**AKIRA:**  +10 persuasion  
**FUTABA:**  +10 sleaze  
**AKIRA:**  lesson learned: the ends justify the means  
**FUTABA:**  still feels shitty  
**AKIRA:**  where are you? ill come cheer you up  
**FUTABA:**  just lying around in the wetness of the earth  
**AKIRA:**  youre outside??  
**FUTABA:**  use your eyes bro  
**FUTABA:**  the rains ended  
  
Akira stilled. The rest of the room was quiet save the tapping of fingers, the odd clearing of a throat. "Do you guys hear that?"

Ryuji looked up first, ears peaked. "Don't hear anything."

He smirked. "Exactly."

Kids came out in droves to celebrate the rains end, sans their raincoats. Then they realized the clouds were still there. Then they felt how cold it was. Quietly, they all shuffled back into their cabins. Akira got up, checking the time. It was late in the evening, the clouds hiding the evening sky in a blue grey brightness.  
  
**AKIRA:**  are you gonna tell me where you are :?  
**FUTABA:**  in a bit  
  
He huffed. "I'll take your raincoats back," he said as the kids in his cabin chucked them at him mercilessly. He laughed, "Nice throw."

It was just an excuse to go outside. His hands cold, his shoes wet. The grass would need another night to dry. He looked out onto the camp. He could look for Futaba blindly, or wait for her to calm down and get to her on her own terms. He sighed and headed for the counsellors office. He could talk to Shiho in the meantime.

* * *

 Camp came into view for Goro much too quickly. Storm clouds a ways away from the camp at nightfall. The idealized version of life lost on him as he parked off-kilter, his car jaggedly wedged into the grass. He lifted jittering hands to touch his throat. He felt cold leather in return. Sighing, he slowly undid his gloves _. I can't be seen with these. Much less those_ , he thought as he clicked open his suitcase to hide the weapons. The money would stay in his car for now, and perhaps father will even bring someone around to collect it.

He looked out at the camp ground. Night sky reached overtop it, gentle darkness covered him in a thin layer of shadow. He relaxed minutely.

Nobody here knows. Nobody here questions. You are a counsellor, a guiding figure in a community. You are not  _that man's_  son. Your hands... are covered in blood.

He looked down. They were spotless. The unfiltered noise of campers came forward the further in he walked, one hand tight around his briefcase and the other in a fist. The grass was wet underneath him. His peacoat laid resting on one shoulder, and the night air calmed him in its crisp, cool awakening.

His face was uncharacteristically void of a smile. He assumed it was ugly in it's truth. He settled for simmering pleasantly, the slightest upturn of a mouth. They wouldn't be expecting much, he was haggard beyond belief. His  _family affair_  was taxing, whether or not their visions envisioned the truth.

The truth. He knew his hands lay at his side, so why did he continue to feel choked? The truth. He swallows it. He's not a killer. Cold sweat ran down his spine. Delinquents laughed in their cabins, loud noises not unwelcome in their awakening of his senses. A cruel sense of mirth threatened to bubble up in reaction to his denial.

Couldn't he just admit it? He killed him. He killed everyone else he helped find, indirectly or otherwise. Why would one man deter him from his goal when he lay so close?  
  
Maybe it was time he started thinking again. Open his eyes to the truth he resolutely hoped to ignore. Fine. He didn't deserve to guide anyone. He murdered hundreds. He threatened more. He was made for the family business. His father would drag out his entrails himself at the weakness he thought he could afford at this camp. All attempts to pretend otherwise would only end in his own disembowelment, his own gun pointed at him.  
  
Well then. He felt shadows in the night claw at him absent mindedly. He found he didn't mind. He couldn't. He walked slowly to the counsellors shared cabin, ready to announce his arrival and then go to his own cabin to sleep. Ready to mull through the next few weeks with as little interaction as he could muster and return home to accept his fate.

His hand barely touched the doorknob when the door collapsed before him, opened from the other end. And who else would he see exiting just as he entered.  
  
Akira. Sakura.

A friendship that ended before it could truly blossom. He would feel bad if he didn't know he was doing the kid a favour. Goro took one look (and momentarily felt personally vindicated by Akira's shirt) and his face lit up like a christmas tree; a plastic plugged in smile meant to incite you to buy something.

"Sakura-kun," he spoke passively. "I'm starting to think this is more than mere coincidence."

Black hair, grey eyes peeking out from underneath. A face that morphed from happy to guarded. He shrugged, smiling. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon."  
  
He hummed, his eyes roaming to behind the teen, wherein Shiho was smiling and waving at his return in her own way. "If I hadn't returned tonight I would have been back mid-day tomorrow. I have a duty as a counsellor."

Akira nods. "I missed you," with the faintest smirk.

"I missed... my bed," he chuckled. "It was a long drive."

 _Did he get the message...?_  Akira finally stepped aside. "Of course. You missed a pretty bad storm."

"I'm sure I'll witness the after-effects linger," he swallowed, facing the boy once more. "Goodnight, Sakura-kun."

"See you tomorrow?" The other boy ventured.

Akechi took time to nod before he quietly shut the door. "Welcome back!" Shiho's pliant voice reached him.  _Out of the pan, into the fire_... He stared at her in neutral fashion, uttering his short gratitudes.

"How was it?" She asked.

He paused, hand on his chin. His other hand loosened around his briefcase. "The usual."

Her smile crumbled minutely, "Is that... good? Do you need to talk-"

"Oh, no." He hurried to quiet her, "It was altogether an experience I've had... many times before, with maybe a few more minor bumps than I was expecting,

_Murder._

"All in all, nothing I haven't handled.

_A dead target._

"Now," he coughed, "I simply wished to announce my arrival and sleep."

"Oh, of course! I'll let everyone know you're here."

"Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Actually, none." She shrugged, smiling as if it weren't her job to care, "A huge storm had us bedridden for the whole day and a bit of yesterday."

"Yes, my shoes took notice..." he flexed his fingers before picking up the case once more. "Well, goodnight."

 

In the end, Akira spent the rest of the afternoon calming Futaba. There was no time to spend wandering through conspiracies in an attempt to weave together a narrative on Akechi. Not that he minded. Even with his crush, Futaba came first. Which is why it was only once Akira lay in bed that he began to wonder if anything had changed but his perception. Because the Akechi he saw in front of him wore the same face, the same hair, the same chilling figure (off-topic); yet he seemed worlds apart from the boy who seemed eager (okay, reluctant) at a chance for friendship...

Or maybe he was reading too into things, and the door he saw closing in front of him was little but his imagination after a particularly different day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LAUGHS i just want to remind myself that the note i had for this chapter was "futaba starts tentative friendship with makoto" AND INSTEAD  
> THAT HAPPENED


	7. Day 7: Outdoors Activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Squints.... im not very happy with this... somehow its the chapter w the most words yet i feel like not enough happened

Akira woke up in a cold sweat that persisted even after he dressed. His limbs chilled, his clothes warm, it felt like a premonition to something but he had no clue what until he reached his phone. For once, it was silent. There wasn't a message to read despite breakfast being half over. It was suspicious, to say the least.

Akira ran a hand through his hair before he unexpectedly sneezed into his elbow, and left his cabin. The air was cold against his skin. His hoodie pressed tight against him while he walked. The building seemed oddly quiet when he entered. Loud conversations were ditched for a low drawl of voices that couldn't be deciphered from beyond their table. He watched in mounting suspense as he finally reached his usual group. Futaba was missing, but maybe that was expected? Out of the corner of his eye he sees Akechi's golden grin levelled at the general populace.

Akira shrugged a greeting to Ryuji, ready to sit when the the other got up abruptly, glare evident. Ryuji's hand taking him by the arm, he let himself get dragged away by his friend to stand just outside the entrance, leaning against the wall of the building.

They were utterly alone, but Ryuji still felt the need to whisper. "What happened to your boyfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he recounted the events. "I was tryin' to be nice to him, y'know, since you like him or whatever. He was acting totally uncalled for!"

"He was rude to you?"

"Kinda to everyone. Blew his whistle in the middle of breakfast. I saw a few kids choke on their food," he snickered despite himself, "Anyway, I ask him how his 'business' was and he tells me to mind my own; calls me an idiot; and tells me my hair is a crime against humanity!" Ryuji counted each instance on his fingers, "Then he tells us he's going to be a lot harsher inflicting the phone rule, so I couldn't even text you about this shit!"

Akira stared. "Did something else happen?"

"What? No."

"...This doesn't seem like the type of thing to piss you off so much."

"Huh? You sayin' I should bow down to Akechi?"

He shrugged, shaking his head. "You know I don't mean that, but... you've shrugged off a lot worse."

Ryuji looked down at his shoes, scuffing them on the dry dirt. He smiled ruefully, finally looking Akira in the eyes again. "You shouldn't know me so well after a week, you know? I've got people back home that can't read me as well."

He sighed. "Akechi is still a problem. Like, you can't go around belittling people like that. But, yeah, I've got my own shit. I've been trying to figure things out with my mom. It looks like all her shifts end around evening, so the soonest she could get here would be midnight. They don't even allow visits then... And I can't make her take a day off so she can see me during regular hours."

"Why not ask the counsellors to see..."

Ryuji's stare pinned his sentence in its place, on the tip of his tongue. He closed his mouth. "I know most the volunteers here are nice, but I still don't trust them for anything. Maybe I'm paranoid... but even thinking of telling all this to Shiho just feels... uncomfortable. We're friends, but, I don't know." He shrugs. "I feel off even telling you all that, honestly."

"Why did you?" he gives a small quirk of his mouth.

Ryuji pats him on the shoulder, "You got a trustable face. Like it's so blank I'm screaming into the void... But, uh, in a good way, really."

"Thanks."

His patting hand turns into a full arm swinging him into Ryuji's orbit as the blond walks them back into the mess hall. "But honestly, fix your Akechi!"

He looked around the caf again. Now, he noticed it. The atmosphere was inexplicably tense for a cafeteria. It was filled with a silent anger, a piercing glare at every smile Akechi gave. He really did a number. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry. He had the feeling that speaking to Akechi in public would only distance them more.

"...You guys want to eat outside?"

"Excellent suggestion," Yusuke agreed. They leave in a pack, only relaxing when they're far away from being heard.

"Ughhhh, I was getting chills in there." Ann states, turning to Akira. "You should try cheering Akechi up!"

"You think he's sad? Seemed more sadistic," ryuji countered.

She tugged at her hoodies strings, "But he has to have a reason, right? Nobody's mean just because they can be."

"I presume being stuck around delinquents would be apt reasoning for him."

Ryuji scoffed, "If he thinks that, why would he take the job?"

"I was merely thinking aloud. There's an infinite amount of possible catalysts. Per example, something happening during his absence?"

"...So he's taking it out on us?" Ann frowned, "I can see that being the truth too easily."

The group is silent, walking toward the cabins without a goal. "So, our cabin?"

Ann nodded, "I think Futaba needs some alone time."

So she was in her cabin. Good. It really wouldn't do for her to be wandering around the woods feeling guilty...

  
  
The schedule listed today was simply, "Outdoor Activities". It was a denominator so vague it could encompass virtually any sport or camp-like activity or even odd game of hopscotch. On first inspection, each counsellor present seemed to hold a duffel bag, backpack, or small carrying bag. On second glance, each counsellor was present. Which explained why Futaba was peeking out from behind Akira's back, an action their friends took with suspicion but thankfully without question.

They stood the farthest they could from the crowd, skirting the forest behind them as if they were on the first day all over again. Ryuji looked as if he wanted to ask, but instead he just scratched his head with a shrug. Akira would have to stop stealing Ryuji's shirts at some point for this act of utter decency-

Even half a field away, even metres from the suffering crowd, even with earphones plugged into his skull; that fucking whistle. Like nails on a chalkboard. Like a fork dragging itself along a plate. He felt Futaba shrink away further. Shiho glanced over in concerned surprise at Akechi's disingenuous but beaming figure. Haru and Makoto simply stood there, one looking more dejected than the other.

He stopped, looking around himself proudly. He cleared his throat, "Thank you for your silence. Today's activity will span morning, afternoon, and evening since we were  _unable_  to do it yesterday,"  _It almost sounded as if he blamed them_. "It will be mandatory for all campers to be outside, un-attached to their phones, and engaging in some sort of physical exertion." He waved a hand toward the others, "They will be in charge of the more dangerous activities-"

"Hiking!" Shiho cut in. "We're going around the whole camp! I can show you guys really nice cliffs!"

"Swimming," Haru said with a smile. "It will be a small hike away, but there's a very promising lake."

"..." Makoto was nudged from beside her, "Oh! Rock climbing. At the bottom of one of Suzui-sans, er, cliffs."

Akechi waved at himself. "I'll be watching over the general activities at camp. There are posts we can set up to start a game of basketball, soccer, volleyball... We can discuss it at length afterward."  
  
There was no way they were doing anything but hiking. Rock climbing sounded dangerous (for multiple reasons); it was a little too cold for swimming (maybe after lunch, though); and they all had to agree Akechi's wrath wasn't worth a game of volleyball. Hiking seemed like the best option anyway, a free few hours to chat and walk with their friend.

They immediately had to go back to their cabins for their unused backpacks, stocking up on snacks before Shiho even passed out granola bars and water. Futaba came back with a suspiciously large bag on her small form. Shiho smiled knowingly as she directed them north.

Hiking took more effort than most people would think. The kids who were seemingly less active than the others soon found this out. Even walking could get tiresome eventually. Sure, the view of the treeline was amazing, but not when you were trying to hold into your knees for balance, breathing facedeep in the dirt. To Ryuji, it was like before his court dates, his house arrest, his broken leg; a low level type of training that soon reminded him of how weak he'd let himself get in the past months.

Ann likewise wasn't doing very well, though she aimed to hide it with forced positivity. Her cellphone was abandoned for the real thing, and she relied on Shiho for most of the hike, resting her head against her on multiple occasions (not that anyone noticed.) The kid who asked Shiho to be his counsellor for group therapy was also present, staying close to Shiho without straying too far from the group of hikers behind them.

Yusuke, who had eaten more that week than he had in the past five months combined, was full of an energy that dissipated within the first hour. He relied on Futaba's sodas to keep his spirits above water as he trudged forward through the wilderness. Junk food giving him short sugar rushes, and the nature around him promising a sweeter reward from the view the cliffside would provide.

Futaba, the self-proclaimed hermit, was eventually carried by Akira for the remainder of the trip. Before that it was a constant barrage of "Wait!", "What did you say?" And heavy laboured breathing. She used her last dying breath to jump on Akira, yelling, "I'm activating the bro clause subsection fifteen! Piggieback powers!"

She would later throw food to the hikers and laugh as if she were their queen. 

Akira surprised them all (minus Futaba, who watched with a dark chuckle). He kept up with Shiho, matching her wit and her pace with quick timed movements that avoided stubborn roots, overturned branches and other debris on the rocky road up. When he picked Futaba up, the only thing that seemed to change was another voice added to the conversation. And Futaba controlling where Akira went by tapping his head.

"Dude..." he watched Akira climb a tree to retrieve Futaba's runaway cheetos (she threw them too far into the air), "Dude!"

He bent over, carefully lifting Futaba up again. "Yeah?"

Ryuji groaned, nearly tripping over with his eyes closed. "You would have been great on our team!"

He smirked at Ryuji, "I'm not really the most athletic," as if to make his point he wobbled a bit with Futaba on his shoulders. He shrugged. "I just... have a lot of stamina."

Ann turned to face them both from her spot at Shiho's side. She smirked. "... That's good for Akechi."

Akira choked, nearly keeling over. Overhead he saw as Futaba and her high-fived. He coughed, "Okay."

 There was a point wherein the trees grew sparse around them. Grass gave way for loose dirt, rocks and tiny bushes. The trail was less obvious there, but Shiho continued to lead them as if she knew it like the back of her hand. Then they reached the clifftop.

"Not too close!" She warned. Akira dropped Futaba to sit on the edge. Shiho gasped. "Sakura-kun!"

 He waved her away. Futaba answered, "You saw how he was for the hike," she herself lay on the dirt, staring at the sky. 

Shiho bit her tongue, "Well... Be careful."

Ann laughed, "They can't blame you if he falls anyway. That's usually how it works."

She smiled back, "You'd know."

"It's good to know loopholes," she shrugged, not even denying it. "Like, the old guys I met couldn't even press charges 'cause it's obvious I'm underage."

"Huh... Smart!" Futaba chirped by their feet. They looked down before sitting next to her, chatting amicably about ways they'd all found holes in flawed systems (something Futaba knew profusely about from her... profession). If Shiho was looking radiant in the morning light, Futaba didn't mention it. If her gaze lingered on bare muscle in the girls arm, she hadn't noticed. Ann pushed at her shoulder suddenly, and she realized she had zoned out of the conversation. "Uh- Wh- What?"

"You still good?" Ryuji asked Yusuke, who had gotten ahead of him to find the perfect resting spot. Something that seemed to be defined as a similar state to Akira, except the young artist was leaning considerably forward, his bare hands clenching the ground at his sides. Akira noted this with a frown, the other boy instantly reaching out to hold on to the artist.

"I don't trust you not to fall." He said bluntly.

Yusuke looked at the forest below in contemplation. "Neither do I." 

 

The walk back down is always faster than the way up. Psychologically it has to do with knowing how long the walk will take compared to the unknown trek upward, and the human brain at work. Physically, it might have been due to Ryuji and Akira trying to race through the bits that sloped downward. Akira with his alcoves of hidden energy, and Ryuji with his training and the adrenaline of the trip to back him up. Even Futaba got up from her spot at Shiho's side to naruto run after them. Ann laughed as she helped Yusuke down the hill.

"I'm capable of walking," he protested once more.

She looked at him with a disbelieving smile, "So, if I let you go right now?"

"I'm perfectly-" she let go. He fell onto a nearby tree.

"Shit," Ann muttered as she rushed to grab him. Shiho took his other side, asking, "How did you survive until now?"

"Actually, relatively fine," he stated once fully upright. They continued the hike down, "I believe my body was used to it's low caloric intake and was using it the best it could. Now that my meals are back to daily, my body is having a hard time adjusting."

"Pretty smart for a lobster boy," she laughed. Shiho giggled alongside her as Yusuke sighed, "I thought that name died."

"You know," Ann began. She stared into Yusuke's eyes. "When this whole camp is over, we're still going to be here."

"That's... true?"

"My parent's aren't nice but-" she sighs before determinedly rushing forward with a harsh slap on his back. "They'd give you a free meal! Akira's and Futaba's dad runs a cafe. Ryuji's mom loves everybody."

"Ah," he intones. "I won't be alone anymore..."

She gives him a wide grin, "Exactly! But, for now I guess we should worry about the hike."

Shiho peeked at her phone, "Oh, at the rate everyone's going we might miss lunch..."

Yusuke caught his second wind immediately, bursting from the girls grips to shout at the campers behind them as if he were the one supposed to discipline them.

* * *

At the camp, lunch had started ten minutes prior. Goro had been close to his favourite spot to eat, a small patch of grass close to the forest, when he abruptly paused in his place; his side flush against the corner of their cabin office at the first hint of noise.

He leaned his head past the wall, eyeing the forest he had planned to eat his food. He heard her before he saw her. Quiet, collected and controlled whispers filling in the absence of sound, too close to be anywhere but the cabins backside (although he would have to fully expose his head to see her). Niijima's quiet desolate tone. "As much as you can fault her for her actions, I'm more upset I let us get caught. I should have known that in a campground full of juvenile delinquents-"

"We both did this," Okumura's soft voice came piercing through. "It was our decision. If it has to be yours, then it's our shared blame."

Her words shook. "I'm useless."

Goro backed away, resolved to eat his lunch elsewhere. 'Fault her for her actions.' 'Shared blame.' More food for thought, he surmised, walking back to his cabin alone. Though he did feel for Niijima's situation- he paused, ripping the thoughts that rooted into him like weeds. Should he feel bad for her? Was that imperative in any way, or more fodder for his dreams of being a... friend to these people. Old habits, he stipulated. His hands twist against his doorknob. His food is hot on the tray in his other hand. He can't deny that their situation is likely disheartening, but he can deny being moved by their... struggle. Whatever it may be.

His food is burning when he grasps it, and he drops the meal back into it's place as he stares at his hands. They shake. He wraps his fingers around eachother, clenches one burning mit into his oddly cold one. Old panic floods into him as he imagines how cold a hand might feel after all the life's drained away. He pushes it back with newfound panic. His fellow counsellors also had something to hide? It sounded much less malicious. Yet who they have to hide it from...

His phone jars him out of his curiousity, texts flooding from multiple sources. The service here really is abysmal... He skitters through them, none of them detailing anything important. Rather, they all seem to be about one topic; different sources stating to go easy, while others outright calling out for extinction. He scrolled to the top, combating a sigh. Of course. His first day back and he already had to threaten someone. He stared at his food for a moment before abandoning it.  _Where's a quiet place to take this..._

* * *

LUNCH as described by Futaba Sakura!  
  
+15 MINUTES LATE  
+25 JUNK FOOD FRENZY  
+100 AKECHI WASN'T IN CHARGE OF LUNCH  
STATUS: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE! =͟͟͞͞ ऀืົཽ≀ ͔ ͕̮ ऀืົཽ✧॰৹꒰❢❢꒱  
  
PARTY EFFECTS: ORA ORA ORA!!! (100%), MUDA MUDA MUDA (99.9%), WRYYYYYYYYYY (0.01%)  
  
INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS:  
  
FUTABA SAKURA:  
\- Ignoring What She Did To Make JoJoJokes GO! +100 Deflection!  
\- Gained Status CONFUSION!  
\- Item Use: Text  
  
AKIRA SAKURA:  
\- Quiet Contemplation GO! +69 Thought!  
\- Akira used CONFUSION! Way Too Effective!!  
\- "Guys, where is my brother going."  
  
ANN TAKAMAKI:  
\- Gained Status CONFUSION!  
\- Used Girl's Intuition!  
\- "Obviously, he's going to deal with Akechi!"  
  
RYUJI SAKAMOTO:  
\- Gained Status CONFUSION!  
\- Tactical Error!!! Ryuji's Always Confused!  
\- "Oh, don't tell me..."  
  
YUSUKE KITAGAWA:  
\- Animagus Transformation 100% Complete  
\- Gained Skill: New Nickname!  
\- "Inari! Figure it out!"  
\- Inari used DEDUCTION! Ineffective!!!!  
\- "Is he off to... sow his wild oats?"  
\- "Not you too!!"

* * *

Akira was on an  _earnest_  search for a camp counsellor. He was on a mission for his best bro, whether he wanted it or not. He knew that Makoto wasn't likely to be showing herself outside of work. That made things harder, as he knew from Haru herself that she was either tending to the flowers, roaming through the forest to catalogue more of the wild around them, or helping out in the kitchen.

And none of those appealed to Akira, who knew he would get roped into it the second he saw her. He was aiming for Shiho, despite Ryuji's insistence against it; she was the reason Akira even asked about him in the first place. Besides, the only other option would have sent Ryuji into a seizure. He remembered from their last talk her ofteness to go through what they had in the supply closet, even if it seemed unusable. So, it was a pure stroke of luck that he was passing the larger supply closet inside the building that housed the mess hall and heard through the fabric of his hoodie a familiar, unforgettable voice in an unfamiliar, unforgettable tone.

Akira stared at the open door, left barely ajar. The voice travelled as a faint whisper in the quiet corridor, and though the person inside was unseen Akira knew that voice belonged to Goro Akechi. An oddly malicious sounding Goro, threatening satirically over the phone.

"Sir, you sound awfully upset for somebody who owes my fathermoney. It's almost funny. Oh, you aren't laughing? You should start, or my associates will-"

Akira leaned against the wall, staring at the open door.  _His father?_  He wondered faintly if he should record this when Akechi suddenly stopped. Whatever the caller said he hadn't liked, evident by the acidic tone afterward.

"If they don't scare you, rest assured  _I will deal with you myself._ Now, wasn't that funny?"

A forced laugh broke through from the other end of the line, the phone he imagined was now held at arms length as a manic chuckle flooded the line. Faint screams of 'Yes, yes!' before Goro ended the call.

Not one to wait, Akira poked his head through the door. Akechi stood on the far end of the room, back facing the entrance. He was surrounded by blue mattresses, odd camp gear and other finely stored items. His head lay in his hands, phone forgotten on a crate. His hair looked as if he had been run through with a leaf blower, and it was only when Akechi ripped a hand through his hair that he realized it was his own doing.

Akira walked further in before knocking on the now widely opened door. Akechi looked up with a jump, his gaze regarding Akira in a look too  _feral f_ or the young volunteer; eyes wide in wild fear and shock, hair almost static; accompanied by the odd predatory sense he got off the other boy that he would do anything to silence him.

"What did you hear?" He asked, in a voice both calm and clipped. Crisp like the cold outside, or crisp like the burning of paper. Akira only realized he had been asked a question after running it through on repeat. What he had noticed, however, was the way Akechi seemed to inch toward the firepokers resting dutifully against a shelf.

He smirked, trying not to think of the earlier heard intimidation act, "Just classic tough guy threats."

Akechi looked surprised he even admitted it. He twisted the rest of his body to face him (in an attempt to hide his reach for the sticks, Sakura noted), his counsellor badge making this much more ironic. "I believe even you can understand when something doesn't involve you, yes?"

"Honestly, I'm not even sure I can wrap my head around this to even begin spreading it around." He grasped his chin in a mockery of Akechi, "And I get the feeling that if I did..."

"I'd ruin you," Akechi states before pushing forward with his firepoker. Inside his head he could only laugh,  _how predictable._  Akira waved his hands in mock surrender, "I don't doubt that for a second."

He stared at him steadily, gaze unwavering and stick firmly planted in his grip. "Then you've been paying attention," he smirked, finally laying his makeshift weapon against a propped up board. His hand attempted to calm his hair through a thorough combing . In seconds, his demeanor had shifted and he graced Akira with one of his simpering smiles, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Akira thought now was the  _very_  wrong time to tell him that his smile was help enough (but if he was really eager to be the best camp counsellor, the ideal involved him showing up in his bed after curfew- okay, okay, shut up)... he battled internally.

Goro Akechi, for all his many apparent faults today (and blessings every other day) was the first counsellor he'd come across, and was the only one who seemed to be readily available when he wasn't on suspicious phonecalls. And he looked rather attractive when threatening Akira and- well. He was sure Ryuji would understand.

"Nothing urgent," he shrugged instead, "A friend had a few questions about visitting hours."

He inclined his head as if to tell Akira to continue. He sighed in response, stuffing his hands into his pockets before he did, "Well- they're not very used to this, you know? The camp was a demand by the juvie sentence, non negotiable and-"

"The question, Sakura-kun?"

"Ryuji's mom wants to visit but she works late, can only come around night- that okay?"

"And Sakamoto-kun couldn't come to us himself because...?"

The next sentence was said in a rushed sigh, "He's not used to depending on people in positions of authority, but-  _Anyway_ , his mom. Is it okay?"

The counsellor's look was incredulous, "Of course. Usually, there might be more suspicion but given that it's his mother I'm sure some of us can stay up late to supervise the visit. We're not a prison, no matter how trapped you may feel."

He hummed, "That's true. And I feel trapped under your gaze as it is..."

He saw the corners of Akechi's mouth raise against his intention, one brow rising. "In fear?"

Akira stared him head on, "Sure."

Akechi's smile grew tenser by the second, "You... really have no questions about the call?"

"I have no reason to ask when it's going to go unanswered," he shrugged.

"Unexpectedly wise."

Akira couldn't keep the words from spilling out, smirk just barely staying off his face and only evident in his tone. "Of course, it's not as if I need your permission to find out."

God, what was he doing? 

"...Excuse me?" Goro near-whispered.  _Wasn't he scared of my threat_? He couldn't pinpoint it on the other's face, but something drastic had changed in his countenance.

 He shrugged again, "It's just the truth. But I don't think I'm going to be  _too_  interested in a friend's past."

 "...Of course not."

He nodded, leaving the other boy in the storage room alone to rethink his plan. "See you, counsellor Akechi."

MISSION COMPLETE!

Gained:

Ryuji's Visit!  
Suspicious! Akechi  
Why Did He Find That Hot!

He was just about to enter the main area of the building when he belatedly remembered his phone buzzing. He fished it out. Futaba had texted him asking questions; then Ann tried supporting his confession; then Yusuke took over her phone to spew poetic advice about love. Ryuji seemed to be the only one who understood why he left, which was both understandable and surprising.

 **RYUJI:**  i told you i dont need any help

Well, he would be grateful later. Right?

 

 

"Niijima-san, you don't look entirely well." Goro gave her a quick smile, "If I may be so bold, I can take over explanations again."

Her face fell as all weariness leaked in from wherever she had been hiding it. Barely contained anger hid beyond the surface, he could read the tells as if it were his own face. "Could you? Thank you, Akechi-kun." She glanced to the right, "I'm going to be resting in my cabin before we begin."

He nodded, watching her leave before scrutinizing the campers held in the vicinity of her gaze. Akira's little group. They did like to start trouble. By her own admission, their blackmailer was a girl; and Sakura-chan, Akira's sibling, seemed to be the most upset watching Niijima-san walk off.

That answers that. He brings his whistle to his lips, effectively overbearing the other sounds. It makes his ears want to bleed. Birds cry out and he begins to speak.  
  
 "Counsellor change for the afternoon," he speaks, "I will be in charge of swimming. Counsellor Niijima will be overlooking hiking, Counsellor Suzui with activities at the campground and counsellor Okumura with rock climbing."  
  
Ryuji pumped his fist in the air! Alright! Dodgeball! He lifted high into the air to high five Akira- only to see him exiting the cabin in swimshorts instead of his normal jeans. He choked, "You. Are. Obsessed."

He shrugged, "Feels like we have unfinished business."

Ryuji stared at him in distrust, "I'm thankful for what you did, but... Just don't get too carried away!"

He snorted. "We can't exactly run away when he's acting as a lifeguard. He's being kind of weird, anyway."

Ryuji grinned, "I've never seen him act normal." He turned to face the rest of their friends, all chatting with Shiho. He shrugged. "I guess we're good here."

Akira nodded, waving goodbye when his group finally noticed he was leaving. He heard Ann's squeal as he slowly joined the circle of swimmers.

Akechi lifted his gaze to the crowd, his eyes lingering on Akira for a fraction of a second. His hands were busy tying his hair back, and he in turn ignored it when he felt Sakura-kun's unabashed stare on him. He swallowed down spit. The Sakura Siblings had dirt on every counsellor they weren't friends with, all to reach some unknown goal?

He would be foolish not to look into it. Yet, that meant interacting further with Sakura-kun, re-kindling their tentative friendship after all... an action he may regret, noting the quiet intensity in the other boy's eyes and his own unwaveringly red ears as the result. Wasn't he determined to stop his friendship with him? Would it be so bad to continue it under the guise of falsity-

Disembowelment. Disembowelment. Disem- he lifted the strap of his duffel bag onto his shoulder, taking a quick look behind him before he began the walk. "The lake is a kilometre away. Which may sound like a lot, but is perhaps one tenth of the walking some of you may have done for the hike."

Kids shuffling steps answered behind him. "Do you like to hike?"

He knew without turning back who said that. The voice was closer to him than he realized, not anticipating the other boy's boldness. Secrets. Father's shame. He gave a curt answer. "Yes," he admitted quieter, still staring ahead. "Though rock climbing is better."

"Why aren't you there, then?"

His response paused in his throat, his steps unwavering as they continued the hike. Maybe he began to walk faster, but it was more of a testament to Sakura-kun when he kept up. Goro answered truthfully. "I will be. For the evening."

The hike was quieter after that. The lake came into view much faster than it could be reached, teasing them into hurrying across the thicket. His shirt became riddled with sweat. He still didn't dare look behind him.

Once they reached the lake, groups scattered. Goro took his time fanning his view in either direction, taking note of kids immediately shedding their shirts to jump in to the cold water. It was just after noon, the sun lay high as he lifted his head to stare at it. He called out absent-mindedly, "Don't forget sunscreen."

He took measured breaths, trying to hide how flushed his face got. Most of the kids seemed to be in the lake, or readying themselves for it. Okay. He could face Sakura.

Akechi turned to face the other boy, his own face red with exertion, his mouth parted in silent breaths. However, Sakura was blank as always, his eyes a bit liberal in the way he searched his face (and lingered on his mouth, his red cheeks, the way his hair stuck to his face with sweat). Goro felt scrutinized, an amoeba under a microscope. It was unnerving. He lifted his eyebrows, "Surely, you've seen people after they exercise."

He shrugged with a breathy laugh (so he was tired?), "I didn't think you were able to sweat."

"Am I so strict you think I'm an alien?" He slowly redid his ponytail, taking in Sakura's lack of a response as he stared into the lake. "You should go swimming. It is the reason you're here."

"Not exactly," he corrected him, saying it as if it wasn't embarrassing before dropping his shirt and hoodie to cannonball into the water.

 

 

The afternoon was half over, the water now pleasant instead of chilling. To Akira's lament, Akechi hadn't gone into the lake once. Instead he stayed standing, watching as if he were wooden. Sometimes he shooed campers sitting down, instructing them to at least pretend to get exercise. For all his apparent assery, Akira had to note it looked half-hearted.

 After another lap, he emerged from doing dolphin tricks with a few nice campers to dry himself off. His skin began to freeze the minute he left water. His chills were back. He wrapped his towel against him like a blanket. If his suspicion was right, he would have to wait for at most an hour for Akechi to notice he wasn't doing anything and talk to him. To his shock and pleasant surprise, it took five minutes.  _Was he waiting on_ me  _this whole time?_

He approached Akira from the side. They stood shoulders width apart as they watched the people in the lake begin to run laps, or simply lap in the sun. There was a tension in the air, leftover from the supply closet and the many days they spent away. And something else entirely Akechi didn't dare name.

His voice is small, like another piece of the background. The birds chirps, the winds howl, and Akechi's gentle tone flits above it all. Akira strains to hear it. "Sakura-kun. We're friends now, hm?"

"... And friends keep secrets?" Akira finished for him, equally as quiet.

He nodded, "I don't know if I can convince you that what you heard was just fooling around, but... From my understanding, you recently had a falling out with Niijima-san?"

"My sister, technically."

"This falling out happened because you have something to hide as well." Akechi didn't know if this was necessarily true, but it made the most sense (and was vague enough to explain away.) "Isn't it better we both keep our secrets to ourselves?"

Akira turned to scrutinize the other boy. He had a distant gaze, his eyes glossing over every detail in front of him. Face bathed in sunlight, he looked as if he was staring into the sun; already blind but unwilling to admit it. His sun-kissed face was almost enough to deter Akira from the conversation.

He gave a low chuckle, "You don't want to confide in me?"

Goro's eyes gleaned left, holding Akira's own in a trance. "The thought hadn't occurred. It still doesn't."

 "Aren't friends supposed to share everything?"

His eye could twitch. Instead he blinked, eyes closed for seconds long enough that Akira could blatantly stare. When he lifted his eyelids, his eyes smiled with the rest of him. "We can skip that part."  _Better yet, we could skip everything._

Akechi turned his attention back to the water. The sun overhead reflected off the blue. It reminded him of the sunset he saw a day ago. His eyes shut again.  _How could you want a friend in me?_ "...I'm starting to think you and I heard different phonecalls."

"Nah." He smirked, taking the chance to analyze Akechi as he answered. "I've just heard better."

"So, the assault that brought you here wasn't the worst of your crimes?" Akechi mused, giving a tint of a smile. "I'm starting to realize why you resorted to blackmail."

"You're not so different, considering..." he let the thought trail off.

Akechi hummed as if satisfied.

"Can I ask why you're being so mean lately?"

His eyes shot towards Akira before glancing away. "I'm being mean?"

He near snorted, "Come on... Maybe not toward me, but it's not hard to see. Did it have to do with what I overheard-"

"Sakura-kun!" His voice rushes into the fray, tense but attempting not to sound too highstrung. He swallowed his nerves as he attempts to find anything- Oh- He supposes that could work-

"Yeah?" 

If this was what it took to keep his secret safe, his own wants were mere accessory. Yes, that sounded like an aptable excuse. Nevermind this may be one of the only chances Goro may ever have. He repeated himself, calmer. "Sakura-kun...

"...Akira-kun." He watched out of the corner of his eye as Akira coughed violently into his shoulder. Up close, Goro could notice how his thin physique was more lean than lacking of any muscle. Uh. Goro also hesitantly went back to the topic at hand. "Which would you prefer?"

Akira spoke through grit teeth and a hoarse throat. _What a great way to deflect_. "I think you know."

He nodded subserviently, "Alright, Sakura-kun."

"What! No," he shaked his head violently, going so far as to make an ex with his arms. "Wrong answer!"

Akechi looked at him skeptically, "But when I said Akira-kun-"

He doubled over again, his head in his hands as he sneezed involuntarily. "See, I'm just a bit sick! Nothing to do with the name!"

Akechi could see the barest hints of red peeking out from under his hands. He let it slide for the more important manner (distracting him from the other topic) "You're sick and you swam for forty minutes?"

"Not that sick," he waved a hand while further hiding his face.

"Sa- Akira-kun!" he chastised him, his own face turning red at Akira's reactions. "I'm the counsellor in charge of you."

"And I'm not going to get sick. It's fine."

 

 

What was young Akira Sakura doing in the evening, you ask? Not rock climbing with Akechi like he presumed. After swimming, Akechi walked them all back to the camp wherein he dragged Akira to Shiho, a look of annoyance clear on his countenance. "Aki..." he flushed, remembering what led up to this. _"He's_ sick. I have more campers to take care of."

Shiho checked Akira over, "You're... actually kind of cold."

"It was cold out! I'm not sick," he laughed it off. "Akechi's just... surprisingly overcautious."

Shiho studied him for a moment, unsure if he was lying or not. Unknownst to her, Akira bit back a sneeze. "I suppose you're fine. I'm staying at camp again for the evening, so maybe you should join the rest of us? Ryuji's been throwing a mean right hook."

"Are we winning?"

She thought about it, "We're having the most fun? Your sister is just lying around commentating," she shrugged. "Yusuke seemed interested, asking all these questions. Then he realized this was great for figure drawing..."  
  
"So." Akira turned his head out the window of the cabin Akechi threw him in for examination. He squinted (these glasses weren't good for shit) finally noticing the two blondes he recognized out of the many coloured heads. Ryuji and Ann stood back to back, crazed glints in their eyes and a cheshire grin behind their decimating dodgeballs. "They're destroying everyone else?"

She gave a nod. "It's been like this for about half an hour. The other campers who are out are planning to gang up on them all at once when the new game starts."

"...Wanna watch?"

  
Ryuji planted his cold soda can against his forehead, "I never thought I'd get hit by so many balls at once!"

"That's what she said," Futaba snickered. Akira and her exchanged a high-five. Yusuke quietly asked from her side, "Who?"

"It looked pretty cool," Shiho piped up, sliding her phone to Ann. They sat in the grass just beyond where the volleyball games were held.

"Ryuji! Look at us!" Ann shoved the phone in his face. The video played on loop, their faces morphed in slow motion from surprise to utter betrayal as people came from every corner to throw a dodgeball at them.

"You guys were going to be annihilated if Akira didn't come in." Futaba baited. Ann pushed aside the phone to look stubbornly at Futaba, "I've dealt with dicks like these before!"

Futaba made a fist in the air, "That's...what...she..."

Yusuke interrupted, "Where is this woman?" 

Futaba sighed, " _Listen, Inari_..." she began to whisper. Akira was about to join in when he saw a familiar blob walking in the background.

"Ah! Hey, Akechi!" Akira called out perhaps too eager to the other boy, who came in leading his pack of rock climbers; their equipment bundled in their arms. His eyes unintentionally sought out the other boy, but he intentionally watched as a line of sweat rolled down the side of his face. His mouth went dry.

That's what he had wanted to see. Akechi exerting himself, sweat down his face and face drawn together as he gasped for breath. A new face. A rare sight. His red face was _cute_ , but-

Ryuji made an exasperated sound, waking Akira from his stupor. "Here we go..." Ann punched him for it before anyone could see.

Akechi paused, back straighter as he turned around with a stiff smile. His eyes sought out the other boys state; messed hair, slouched posture, sweat...

"Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"Why do I need to dream when you're already here?" Akira had always been told he was better as a quiet child. Akechi's unwavering stare, mouth continually gaping like a fish, and his own friends silence seemed to prove that point.

Yusuke's inquisitive tone filled the chilled evening air. "...That's what she said?"

Futaba cackled, "Close enough!"

They all high fived Yusuke that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laughs x2  
> "how long will akechi avoid akira"  
> ........ i just realized Not Long At All  
> Hope this isnt disappointing :")
> 
>  
> 
> sidenote: i cant update the tags to put my very rare possibly one-sided ship of futaba&shiho :/ what is this tomfoolery


	8. Day 8: Health Class/Bear Bags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its my friends birthday party today!! But i really wanted to get this out cuz spending 5 days on it seems too much
> 
> Sidenote: i wish i made the caf ladies confidantes but instead have ocs 
> 
> Sidenote 2.0: there is an odd limbo in fanfics wherein ur idea (therapy camps) is inherently western but the og material is asian and u dont know what to name ocs or where any of the story takes place ha ha ha ha ha

Goro Akechi woke abruptly to the sound of his alarm, a monotonous beep of his phone coupled with a vibration so close to his head that he felt it just before he woke up. He let it ring as he stared at it, finally reaching a hand to press it silent. He had gone to sleep with no concrete plan. That seemed to happen a lot around Akira. The one (if not the only) person he had been allowed to call by his first name. He had fully planned to ignore the teen, yet his curiosity dictated him unable (and the information he could have lorded over him involving the phonecall.)

He wished he never threatened that man, never allowed himself to be seen in that moment of weakness. He stared at his phone as he laid in bed. Nothing new. That would have been very convenient yesterday.  
  
He got up, looking around the cabin; its three lonelier beds bereft of anyone else's belongings. He placed his suitcase on one of them, rifling through his clothes for a fresh white shirt. He knew underneath that bed was his briefcase, his gun. He sighed. There was nothing he could do but take Akira's offered olive branch, slowly learning the boys secret until they were on equal footing once again. That was another major flaw regarding both his and Niijima's problem; they had no hold over the Sakuras.

The obvious observations followed:

  * They were unnamed assailants in a larger scandal
  * Akira had been on-site, Futaba was likely observing from the outside
  * They did not belong amongst petty criminals
  * They did not fear immediate threats



He thought about speaking with Niijima, inquiring into what he missed the last few days, slowly vexing into that particular group (maybe her anger would make her slip). He knew from past experience Okumura was tight lipped. She had been dictated before by her father to stay quiet, and he knew too well from seeing them at gatherings the kind of lies she could hold.

Suzui Shiho. An actually nice person, perhaps the most genuine out of all the counsellors. With her pre-existing ties to most of them and budding friendships with the rest, she had the biggest in. Maybe she had been privy to their secrets in ways he wouldn't have had the chance in millions of years.

She was also undeniably intuitive. He wouldn't be able to hide why he was looking into his friend rather than asking him himself... Though, he could always fake emotional vulnerability. 

"I'm just worried..." he muttered, kicking off his pajama pants for his jeans in front of a full length mirror, "He's been distant and I want to know if I can help."

_That would tie in with my seeking assistance yesterday._

"I'm worried about- A-ki-ra-kun," he repeated himself, enunciating the word slowly through his tongue. He forced his shirt on before roaming around for his brush. His voice concerned, "He has been acting... distant and I want to know if I can help."  
  
"Akira-kun, Akira-kun, Akira-kun." He had to take away the embarrassment that came with saying it. Although he had to admit much of it was lost when he thought about how this came to be. A false friendship based around necessity. He could still keep this at a comfortable pace, right? He wouldn't get too attached. He trusted himself to keep a steady wall in place before long.

He could. He stared at the mirror, adjusting his shirt. And even if it became genuine, what was one stab in the back compared to the whole of his family business? Compared to his own safety? His counsellor badge in place, his smile evident, he snaked a hand across his bedside table and retrieved his whistle only to stare at it.  
  
Is there a difference in stopping pain for benevolence and stopping pain for malevolence? He slowly slipped it on, unsure if he would use it. Kids would like him again, which he begrudgingly accepted as something he needed for Sakura's trust.

"Akira." Sakura. Who held things close, who had his cybernetic sister at his side; who seemed to be fit unlike a delinquent would, not solely focussed on the punch but a body built for stealth... of what he saw, ha. A nervous laugh finds its way up his throat. "Akira. A-ki-ra. Aki-ra. A-kira."  
  
Though he supposed under scrutiny his body would look no different. Which was both alarming and intriguing. He turned to his bed, checking his phone once more. He chanced a glance back to the mirror. Back straight, hair combed, eyes wide. Smile evident even as he stared. "Good morning, Akira-kun."

* * *

"Good morning, Akechi." Akira watched as the other boy slowed down his ascent to share pleasantries. "Come to check up on me?"

Akechi turned around, pleasantly noting the questionable but not hostile looks on Akira's friends. "You seemed sick yesterday. I'm surprised you look so well today."

Was that an insult or a compliment? Akira shrugged, "Maybe I was cold after the lake."

Akechi quirked an eyebrow, not thoroughly convinced. "I hope it was just that." He turned to the other occupants of the table with a nod and a greeting. "Good morning."

He didn't give them time to respond, already walking away with a clipboard in his grasp, speaking attentively to Meredith at the counter. Shiho was working as well, animatedly rushing to look through whatever Akechi had in his hand. The group turned back to their breakfast.

"He looks done with... whatever that was," Ann smiled.

"I dunno," Ryuji squinted suspiciously, "Can you ever tell with that guy?"

Yusuke agreed, "The day is still young."

Akira nodded, meanwhile fishing his phone out underneath the table to reply to Futaba, who sat next to him so it was technically pointless.

 **FUTABA:** u never told me why akechis acting weird ( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)  
**FUTABA:** but he knows abt makoharu so be on ur guard  
**AKIRA:** telling you now would just worry you  
**AKIRA:** i'll fill you in eventually, when i know the truth  
**FUTABA:** ok.... im trusting u  
**FUTABA:** ill stay sleeper agent while u gather intel  
**AKIRA:**  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) intel ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
**AKIRA:** does that include nudes  
**FUTABA:** bro!!! Do not fuck the enemy!!!  
**AKIRA:** too late dick in vagina  
  
Futaba laughed, pushing against Akira in annoyance. Akira smiled back before looking up at three blank faces. "Inside joke," he explained.

"This is serious!" Futaba near-shouted. He ruffled her hair. Akechi's stare had not gone unnoticed on his side.

"One step ahead." he whispered close to the top of her head. She peeked out to see what he saw with a sound of understanding.

"Cool. I guess that works," she shrugged.

"Now that you're done being secretive," Ann said from across the table. "Akira! What did you fix with you-know-who?"

He tried his best to think of the most neutral way to explain that he had accidentally unearthed Akechi's talent at threats and deceit and now the counsellor seemed to be trying to save his own skin from Akira witnessing said threats and deceit. He shrugged, "Found one of the horcruxes."

"Was it his bed?" Ryuji asked, laughing. Futaba and him high-fived. "Can you destroy his whistle next?"

Akira felt his phone vibrate in his hand.

 **FUTABA:** talking abt his weak points might actually b a good idea

"Fiendfyre or basilisk venom?" He replied distractedly.

"Why not... just toss it off the cliff?" Ann supplied happily.

Yusuke's voice filtered through, not entirely understanding the joke but following just enough to reply, "There's a chance the trees cushion its fall. Further, where would we find venom?"

"Futaba can make a mean fire!"

Akira was slowly replying when he felt a presence behind him, a hand that tried sliding itself along Akira's shoulder before hurriedly taking itself away. Hair brushed against his head before it wavered backward too, as if uncertain of its boundaries.

He looked up. Akechi's questioning, genuine (?) gaze met his from above his left shoulder. Before that, his eyes had been down at the phone in his hand. Black casing that was unmistakable in his pale fingers. "Hey," Akira greeted, shutting off his screen but taking no care in putting his phone away when he's been caught.

"Nice toy you have," he said, finally pulling himself closer. Akira chanced a peek toward the other side of the table. Yusuke was watching with clear questions held back at his tongue; Ryuji's mouth was open a bit unflatteringly; Ann had gripped Ryuji's arm in barely contained excitement, her face silently screaming her enjoyment. He didn't dare look at Futaba.

Instead, he took the chance as it was to peek at Akechi's features up close. His eyes seemed half shut, or maybe that's because he was looking down at his lap. His mouth held the barest quirk upward, like there was a joke to having his phone taken away that he hadn't understood.

Akira raised an eyebrow, ready to take the bait. "Toy?"

Akechi's amusement fell over his face like a blanket. "Well, it's not your phone. If I recall, your phone was... _red,_ with a series of stickers and a large amount of unflattering images of me."

He rolled his eyes, holding back a snicker. So that's what he meant. He played along, smiling as he couldn't help himself, "If you saw them yourself, you'd see they weren't that bad for hairnet pics."

"Is that so?" His eyes stared into Akira, taking in quiet details about the other boy's reaction, his own a placating glamour of curiosity and... teasing? Akira steeled ahead as if he didn't notice.

"It's hard to find an angle that wouldn't suit you."

Akechi backed away from his shoulder, lifting himself up to standing level. His eyes determined not to find Akira's. He instead focussed on his hair, combed absent-mindedly through by his own hand. His grin still seemed more like a smirk, but- "You continue to undue me with undeserved flattery,  _Akira."_

Then he left without a goodbye, leaving in his wake a comatose Akira to be dealt with by his friends. His shouting, belligerent, well meaning friends.

"A-Akira?! Since when was he calling you-"

"First name basis! First name basis! We need a commemorative photo-"

"Why do his actions suggest he knew exactly what he was doing..."

"Right! That was definite flirting!"

"Guys- Ah! Akira! He's self destructing!"

Akechi headed toward the counsellors office, smiling to himself at the glimpse of a reaction he saw before he left. His own face was slowly gathering in colour at his actions. His head spun with stray thoughts, one glaring at him above the rest:  
The ends justify the means... And he was determined not to think about his means too deeply, of course.

* * *

They hadn't left the cabin yet. Shiho left the two of them alone under the guise of figuring out today's lesson; although the pair were doing anything but.

Makoto laid her head on Haru's lap, gaze far as she watched the world outside wake up, campers racing eachother to breakfast, or taking their sweet time as they smoked outside the establishment. Her eyes closed as the sun hit her from beyond the clouds.

She could do this herself. She could figure this out without her sister involved. She didn't need- no, that wasn't right. She lifted her gaze to Haru, who was combing through her hair as she hummed. She needed someone. Just as desperately as she wished to be relied on. Her voice broke through the music. "You saw Futaba recently, yes?"

Haru nodded.

"She seemed awfully..."

"Contrite?"

She nodded. "I'm not as upset anymore. I am distraught.  _Disappointed._  It still doesn't make what she did right, but..." her brow twitched, "Her motive is clear. I don't want to go along with their will- I don't want to be trapped even here, but if she's truly only holding this against us for her family..."

"You're not going to your sister after all?"

She bit her lip. "I still want to investigate. It's not as if we don't have other channels. We're capable people. We can find out what they've done and analyze for ourselves if it's worth the risk... is that ok with you?"

Haru's hand stilled in her hair, a second of pause before it continued. "We should do what's right. I don't think we know what's right, for now."

"So..." she sighed. "Life as always?"

"We have fun while we can?" Haru smiled. Makoto smiled back at her, lifting onto her elbows to kiss her from below.

"Please."

* * *

  
Niijima was doing a sound job listing all the possible symptoms of a concussion. Akechi was sure, having quizzed her on it before the camp properly began. He eyed the two girls as they led the class, pointing to the back of their skulls as well as referring to a diagram they had projected on the wall behind them. Goro stood next to such an image, up until Okumura switched to the next slide.

After-effects of concussions; how it can lead to traumatic brain injury if left untreated; various ways you might suffer. How insufferable medical staff was at recognizing TBI. Akechi recognized it all as correct, and eyed the groups instead. He paid close attention to  _his_  group in particular. He already knew Niijima would do well.

It wasn't as if Akira was hard to figure out, at least at surface level. He seemed to be loyal to his friends, make crass jokes, and find the best entertainment in throwing Akechi lines (something he told him to quit at yet perpetuated himself). He was physically fit, mentally able, and before he even knew who Akechi was: he wanted him as a friend. And Akechi had no idea why. Then again, that seemed to be the case with him. Akira was mysterious (hadn't his friends said so themselves), with his own reasons that likely went against any sort of logic.  
Re: Akechi's friendship.  
  
Below that, who knew? He mused, resting a hand against his chin as he watched Niijima's form when treating the 'concussed' Okumura, the pair laughing when Haru threw her head too far back, causing her to proclaim, "Ah! This might not be a demonstration by the end." In their pairing came another issue entirely; the other Sakura sibling.

Goro inched his gaze the slightest bit beyond the two, noticing that Futaba was giving minute to minute glances from her lap to the two. Guilt itched on her face, he could feel it pouring over her now that he knew to spot it. Akira's arm wavered slightly as he no doubt grounded her in his grip. He could feel a tendril of envy; after all, for her to be upset meant she was never made to do anything worse. The thought of such naivete was insulting.

At first glance, Futaba Sakura was the same as Akira. Loyal to friends, filled with crass humour, minus any suspected flirtations with counsellors. Yet the similarities ended there. He could admit that while Akira would probably survive in the camp alone, Futaba was unquestionably dependent on her older brother. The way she clung to Akira for protection the first few days, and now seemed to be branching off to the others in her group- the dependency as an outright sight was less frequent, yet still there underneath.

She was less physically fit, more tech savvy. Willing to take blunt risks rather than worm around and lie. She was unused to guilt, to blackmail, to threats? Akira seemed unfazed by it. She was the weak part of their duo, thus easily exploitable (if the way she bit her lip at Niijima's smile was any indicator).

Yet, exploitable for what? The relationship Akechi had was with the older sibling. Akira, whose weakness he couldn't read off his face, but instead whose lips curled into a smile when he saw him and whose glasses reflected light just so in a way that dulled the boys eyes-

"Okay," Niijima bit back another laugh, "Any questions?"

Goro looked up, eyes clearing. They finished already? He would have to hand out the forms. He started to move from his place by the wall, gripping a stack of worksheets. A hand flew up, indicative by how Okumura's voice weaved around the room, "Yes?"

Head down, he skimmed through the pile in his hand. His eyes slowly parsed through, and yes, these were the right ones. The end of a question bit his ear, "... do go unconscious?"

"Well, you  _have_  to wake..." it became nonsense inside him. He turned to face the crowd, gaze gently firm.  _How did it get to be like this_ , he thought bitterly. His right hand grasped the edge of pages as he passed them onto tables. _When you strip away the layers, this situation is unveiled to be parallel to ones I came here to escape._

Niijima's voice. "The top priority should be to immediately find a way out of..."

_This was supposed to be my way out._

"... the secluded area and into civilization. You need to receive help quickly..."

The only difference, he sighed inward. Is nobody breathing down his neck. He didn't notice who he passed a paper to until the warm smile and wink fluttered past the corner of his eye.

He gave a fleeting smile back.

Still, as he took his place at the end of the classroom, he supposed there was something favourable: he wasn't home. That was comforting, if only prolonging the inevitable. He stood resolutely, waited for a camper to have questions.

Besides, this wasn't something he needed help on. To bring outside influence against a teenage boy and her sister? He might as well have disappeared with his mother that night. His grip on the few papers he held stilted as he realized he would have crushed them. He shook his head.

He had already decided not to get attached to anyone here, wasn't this the perfect way how? Focus his time onto a target, get close, and then cut off their strings of fate.

He felt his face falling away. What was he thinking about in a classroom? Behind him was an abandoned table; he felt it pushed up against the wall. He spun around to face it, fixing the papers with able ease from the issue that wasn't there. His mind distracted, his eyes centered on diagrams he had memorized. He hadn't noticed anyone was there until they vocalized it.

"Hey." He flinched. The voice was quiet, watching him with a curious gaze. "...Are you-"

He twisted his head, finding just who he expected. His words were unexpectedly blunt. "Yes- Do you have any lesson questions?"

Akira shook his head, "We want to know if we got all the questions right."

Akechi chanced a look around the room. The other counsellors did seem occupied. He bit his tongue, nodded his assent and left the papers behind him as he joined them at their table. Ryuji tapped the paper immediately before sliding it over to their side of the table. "Did we do it?"

Akechi loomed over their table, his hands on either side of the assignment as he bent forward. Akira stood next to him, watching rather than sitting at his seat. He skimmed through the short answer portion, checking off information as he went over it. He tsked, "You don't have anything wrong, per se, but answer five is a bit too short. There's more than these two ways in helping someone stay conscious." He looked up at their blank stares. "Smelling salts?"

Yusuke nodded, "And the diagram?"

He smiled, tilting his head up to include Akira. "All in the correct order. Very well done. I would give five a once over and include a bit more before handing it in, though."

When he turned to leave Akira was in his way. He gave a short nod, "Thanks."

Akechi's laugh was light, "It's my job."

The other boy shrugged, finally letting him pass. "Still."

Akechi gave him a curious look as he left. With his papers in his hand again, he approached the front of the room. Time seemed to stretch and ebb its flow. He supposed there really wasn't much else to today's lesson. Groups began to hand in their papers. He chanced a look at the clock. Lunch was fast approaching, with most people done. He cleared his throat, "Niijima-san, do you think we should remind them about the trip?"

Niijima, who had been caught up in quiet conversation with Okumura, looked up in mild surprise at being addressed. "Oh, you're right. Thank you, Akechi-kun."

Before it was just ten minutes to time, she spoke. "I would like to remind everyone that in two day's time we'll be doing the practice run of your trip; one full night in the forest not too far from here."

Hushed whispers rose out of the woodwork. Jokes about escaping reached their ears, ignored. Even the less rowdy kids seemed to have a reaction, if a scared one. That's right, she recalled, nobody is here by choice. There are less excitable kids who may have been spooked by the mere idea of attending  _camp._

"Please pack your bags sometime before wednesday afternoon for overnight. It will be a supervised trip." Relieved sighs emit underneath loud boos. She smiled. That calmed some of them down... Haru's voice reached through the noise, "I think lunch will be soon enough."

"That is true. Maybe we should dismiss them early?" Both teens turned to Akechi, the only other person in the room with the power to disagree with their decision.

He paused with his hand on his chin, "I don't see why not. Campers," he turned to face the crowd. "You're dismissed."

* * *

Lunch was a cacophony of noises. People asking eachother why they thought Ryuji was so cool (it'd been three days since group therapy and word was still spreading). Kids laughing at their friends who had gotten sick from the storm. A surprising lack of murmers around Akechi.

"They have to notice how weirdly back and forth he is, right?" Futaba muttered.

"Maybe we're the only ones who see his nice side," Ann speculated, turning to Akira with a glint. "Or he's the only one who's worthy of his nice side."

Ryuji snorted, sliding out of his hoodie and revealing his shirt which said, oddly, "ASK ME ABOUT MY MEAT SHOP". "You have a point. He didn't apologize about what he said, but he hasn't- Uh, hey?"

A couple of kids had walked up to their table, staring straight at Ryuji. One kid with fire red hair spiked up enthusiastically, holding a pack of cards. His jeans had a flame patched right over his crotch. The other had his arm around the other's shoulders, smiling bright through his huge bangs. His hoodie was filled with holes and tie-dyed odd purples.

"We heard you beat up Kamoshida!" said the firecrotch, "We wanna hear more about it!"

"Really?" He asked, turning to look at his friends as if to say, once more with feeling, "REALLY?!"

"Fuck yeah!" The other kid reached out for a tentative fistbump. Ryuji, not wanting to be  _that_  rude, returned it. "My older brother was on his team years ago. He loves you!"

Ryuji grinned then, "Okay, cool. So... why the cards?"

"You trying to play us for info?" Ann asked, voice a few decibels above cold.

They both nodded their heads, "If we lose; you get our money or snacks or whatever. If we win, we wanna hear the details of how you fucked him up!"

"What game?" Futaba asked, eyes hidden by the glint of her glasses.

The two boys looked over eachother. "Uh," answered firecrotch, "Dunno. Poker, go fish, old maid..."

The group instinctively all went to look at Yusuke, who was only half paying attention to what was going on around him. His sketched up ideas for a flower arrangement were soon abandoned as he eyed the competitive gleam of Ryuji and Futaba with an assenting sigh.

Futaba took over immediately, to Akira's proud big brotherly pride. She lifted her glasses up her nose anime-style, jabbing her other finger at them. "Let's put a little more on the table. Find... I dunno, five other kids to play with you? And we raise the stakes with a pot to win; we put in two more guys; then we play."

Bangs was smarter than he looked. "...Why?"

Ryuji jumped in with his disarming grin, "'Cause that's how you make shit fun? And if you lose..."

"You can always win it back," Futaba said with a devilish smirk. The rest of them looked between the two with varying shades of shock, acceptance, and pride. The illegal gambling ring begun now.

  
  
"Oh, lobster boy?" They patted him on the chest. "He's not a  _real_  player, so go easy."

"Not real?" Said a kid, Takeshi, with yellow tip dyed hair. "But it counts if we win against him, right?"

"What he means is he's inexperienced," Futaba explained, looking in pseudo-annoyance at Ryuji. "He's here to learn how to play. Never even knew the rules before coming here."

"Sad, but true." Yusuke commented.

"If it's you and him left, it's basically your win." Ryuji shrugged.

That made the gullible kids happy. A few were suspicious (and they should be), but they were gone before they could call Yusuke out and ruin the fun. Before they knew it, a crowd of all the kids in the caf had formed around them. The cafeteria ladies watched with warm smiles as the action went on at two tables pushed up against eachother.

"Reminds me of  _my_  youth," Lativia laughed in her deep, glorious baratone. Akira leaned back against the counter to watch the action with her, sipping on a free juicebox.

"So, like," Ann looked between embarrassed and excited to ask, twisting her head every few second to watch the festivities. She twiddled her fingers, "You ever maim a man, miss?"

"I've maimed everyone. The trick to a good stranglehold is- Oh! Your friend is playing!"

They all turned to face the match. Ryuji and Futaba had both been bested by one of the kids. Firecrotch was still heading strong but his friend had lost early. It was Yusuke's turn, and he was scratching his chin in thought. Finally, he took the other kid's card.

"H-How are you this lucky?"

"Oh, am I winning?" Yusuke replied swiftly, "I wasn't sure."

Firecrotch's face caught red, his hair and crotch alike matching his face. "Y-you!!"

The other kids in the lunchtable laughed. "Of course he's good against you! Anyone can tell when your face gets like that!" "Even an amateur!"

Well, they were half right there. Just as the game seemed to be drawing close, somebody shouted out the time. "Crap!" Came the replies. "We're so close! We can't leave for the lesson!"

Ryuji and Futaba stepped up to the crowd. "Now, now," Futaba starts. "Tell you what. Ryuji will hold onto the pot we have going now, and next lunch we start as soon as we can."

Ryuji smiled up at them with that grin, "And I'll talk more about Kamoshida even  _if_  I win," he promised.

"Uh, but don't misunderstand- you still need to put more into the pot if you want to play tomorrow."

Groans reached their ears, but Ryuji wrapped an arm around a disgruntled Futaba as he kept up the play, "Aw, come on! This way, when you win you get even more money."

At that, a few agreed. It slowly grew 'til even the ones who wanted to disagree would in the end have to accept it. The kids trickled out of the room, some staying a bit longer to smile at Ryuji and joke around. Then, when they too left, the three gamblers joined their friends.

"You're going to rob them blind," Akira announced. He pat Futaba's head brotherly, "Don't spend it on more figurines."

"Hey! I'll spend it on whatever I want!"

Akira squinted, "I do admire your rebellious attitude."

"We did pretty sweet, huh?" Ryuji cheered, throwing an arm over Yusuke. "Especially with our ace in the hole."

"I'm looking forward to buying new art supplies with my cut," Yusuke said, pleased.

"And you two," Ann looked over Futaba and Ryuji, "You guys play good cop bad cop really well!"

Ryuji scratched his neck, still smiling. "Yeah, surprisingly, huh?"

Futaba beamed. "I just had to copy every suspicious looking anime glasses guys I've ever seen. Then, it was easy."

Lativia came out from behind the counter, "I haven't seen swindling like that since I was a teen! Real nice. But, uh, don't you guys have class?"

"Ah, shit, all the money!" Ryuji looked over the pile left in a crowd on the table. Money abd junk food stacked up.

"I'll hide it under the counter, if you need."

Akira prayed to Lativia, "Just for the afternoon."

"It's no trouble," she waved them off and they ran for the outside.

  
Akechi was adjusting open bear traps when they caught sight of the activities. Groups were set, sitting on the benches and mostly whispering about what had just occurred like five minutes prior.

"Hey!" Shiho called them over from the other side. They joined her happily, "You guys got tied up in something?"

"Just a bit," Futaba answered, smiling.

"Lunch was..." Ann added helpfully.

She smiled with a wink. "Right. I'm curious, but I get the feeling knowing would make me a bad counsellor."

"Terrible," Akira admitted.

She nodded. "You only missed introductions, getting into groups. Nothing's really started, and we're actually setting up now."

"Cool," Ann looked around. "Groups of five? We're set."

Ryuji looked around. "We should grab some... traps, then?"

"We shouldn't have missed introductions," Yusuke concluded.

"It was a necessary evil," Futaba stresses, "Besides- Okay... Akira, what are you thinking?"

They turn to the boy, who is in turn watching another boy as he struggles, shirt rolled up to his elbows and brow furrowed.

"...Do you think Akechi needs help?"

"Oh my god."

"I'm just saying, it looks hard-"

Ryuji chokes, "And you always did love a hard ass, or whatever you said, huh?"

"Is this what he's like all the time?"

An overly dramatic exasperated sigh. "Yes!"

Akira started to slowly back away, "It's not like class will start without the traps, right?"

To their surprise, it was Yusuke who waved him off. "Enjoy your spring awakening."

"Only until class starts!"

"Don't fuck it up, bro!"

He nodded. That last warning held a bit of a double meaning for sure.

  
  
Akechi wrenched open the steel trap, eyeing it dangerously.  _When have I ever used a beartrap_ , he thought,  _when will I ever- "_ Need help?"

He jumped, removing his hands as the mechanism slammed shut with a metallic crunch. Akechi turned around, facing, of course, Akira. He got the sudden idea that even if he had made the decision to ignore Akira, he wouldn't have been allowed. He looks up at the other boy, wiping away what sweat he can from his forehead. His tongue dry, he asks, "You know how to do this?"

Akira shrugged. "Fast learner, remember?"

"Too bad we haven't started the lesson..." he sighed, "Can you hold this section down for me?"

Akira did as instructed, pushing down on the springs as Akechi began to open the metal jaw again. He couldn't help but ask. "Is this really helping?"

A grin grew on the other boy's face, "It's reassuring. If only because at the chance this bites my hand off, I can push the blame onto you."

Akira smiled back. "Glad to be of service."

Finally, the jaws clicked into place. Akechi stared at the contraption. He eyed it warily. "You can let go now." His eyes never left the machine, even with Akira's appendages saved. "I swear... There's not even any bears around here."

He sighed, "Nonetheless, thank you. This will work as an adequate model for..." another deep breath. "You get it."

"Yeah." Akira reached out to grab a small bit of leaf (or mulch or grass) that stuck itself to Akechi's forehead. His hand was halfway there when he heard the startled cry. "Don't!"

He looked down, toward his troubled eyes, removing his hand to lay it back by his side. He muttered, "You have something on your forehead."

"Ah?" Akechi backed up to skim his hand across his brow. "Sorry. I thought... the trap would go off. It's a silly fear."

Below them the metal spikes gleamed. Akira tried to give his own version of a reassuring smile. "Not  _that_ silly."  
They got up and far from the slightly dingy looking death-contraption.

  
  
"This trap is a spring trap, an outdated but...  _Efficient_  way of keeping bears and other animals away from your items. It's also extremely dangerous."  
He knew Suzui was behind him, poking at the bear trap with a stick. The distinctive crunch that came afterward still gave him pause, even as he twisted around to make sure it was just the stick that had been eaten through the metal jaw. "You won't be using them on your stay here. For obvious reasons."  
  
Suzui demonstrated the rest while Akechi put away the bear traps before anyone got any ideas. "Now, tie the food bundle onto the rope and hoist it up into the tree. After, you can secure the remaining rope to a smaller branch. It's recommended you leave it a few metres lower than the branch, so smaller animals can't climb onto it and break through your bag."

He came back to find her throwing a rope down, its weighted end slowly lowering to the ground. He recounted all the steps she had left before leaving to find the box with the nylon bags, rope, and weights that hopefully wouldn't damage any of the campers during their trial run.  
  
Yusuke found that simply lifting Futaba up and having her throw the rope for the both of them was a simple solution to his lack of finesse and her lack of height. Ann watched Ryuji throw before attempting herself ("Your technique's pretty good!"). Akira lobbed it over like he was tossing a ball, surprising even himself when it bounded around the branch instead of coming right back down. "Lucky shot," he answered honestly.

They all lifted their bags to about the same height, all on the same steadily lowering branch. "Huh," they muttered, watching as the tapered end of the branch slowly slid to sag. The bag closest to the end dropped what feet it could.

"Huh," Akira replied as he went forward to throw his bag again. He picked out the branch just slightly to the left of theirs. None of them used the same branch to tie their rope off, leaving their four bag branch to look like a weird spider web, with Akira's rope zooming past their bags to rest on a branch far away, the line down almost horizontal.

"What if we made it into a zipline...?"  
They shared a look. A glance back at the counsellors corralling the other kids throwing weighted bags at eachother. "Maybe," they settled.

"It's almost time for dinner," Yusuke said, keen sense of food working in his favour. "Perhaps our cafeteria friend will be leaving soon."

"Fuck," Akira started to back away from the forest, eyeing the clearing he would have to cross. "I'll get the money."

Ann gave him a wink, "We'll distract them."  
  
Akira took off at once, turning his head to see Shiho thankfully unaware, dealing with the boy who seemed to depend on her. His gaze roams further, almost halting in place as Akechi looked past the child in front of him to lock eyes with him. His mouth opening to wordlessly speak his name. Ann came in to view then, and Akira knew it was pointless to look back. Plus, it was slightly disorienting.  
  
"Hey! What kind of knot works best for, er, thin branches?"

"Some would say the clovehitch knot, I prefer knowing what  _he_  is up to."

"Who? Yusuke? Ryuji? Oh, Akira!? He really had to use the bathroom-"

  
  
Akira, visible in the evening light, took the first entrance he saw into the building. He weaved through the sparse and dimly lit hallways, eyes drooped now that he was alone. Dust had him sneezing. His arm hurt from when he threw the ball. Honestly, his whole body ached in the familiar pain of a bruise. It had since yesterday, not that anyone knew.

  
Akechi started to turn his head, eyes travelling up the path. He sighed, "Is it dangerous?"

"Nah," she grasped her elbow in her hand.

"Do I want to know?"

"Nope," she watched him with pleading eyes.

  
He found his way past empty, abandoned rooms. Odd washrooms and staff-only lockers. This place  _was_ suited for a much bigger staff. The only reason it was being run now, by four counsellors... What was the reason again? He reached the end of a short hallway, twisting the doorknob in front of him. Finally, a recognizable hall opened up to him. The building was lit, and he could see through the open door the class he had been in that morning. A nasty cough took over his throat.

   
"I see." Akechi nodded, looking as if for once he would let it slide. "Class ends in twenty minutes."

"...Okay?" Behind her, the rest of their friends had been packing up, chatting slow to distract Shiho. Now, they stared openly, watching with such thinly veiled suspicion it almost outweighed Ann's curiousity.

"Perhaps I'll end this class early as well."

  
  
He easily found the cafeteria entrance. "Lativia?" Akira called, the lights in the cafeteria half-on, half the room lit. He approached the counter, peeking over. His valuables were there, tidy in a taped up spare box she must have had lying around. He hops on top of the counter, bending over the glass separating food from camper, reaching upside down to drag out the box. He can feel snot slowly try dripping out of his nose.  
  
It was kind of stupid. He should have just hopped over the counter. He learned that once a sneeze had him instinctively move the crook of his elbow, his body seemed to ricochet him further downward and he toppled over the counter and onto the kitchen floor.  
  
Oh, god. That killed his throat. His neck hurt, his back took most of it. His surprise etched a hoarse groan as he fell, and that in turn irritated his throat, and that in turn- well. He sat up, dusting himself off. Turning right, he saw the box, neatly patched up with a note apologizing for her absence.  
It was for the best she hadn't seen him.  
  
He crouched low to retrieve the box, landing upright without too much of a spin. His footing grounded, his body leaning against the counter. Slowly, the way he should have in the first place, he lifted the entrance to the kitchen and walked past it. Cafeteria etiquette: Super Simple Stuff. He reached the front entrance, pushing it with his back. He left semi-darkness for the cool blue of the late afternoon. Not a camper was in sight, and-

"Akira?" Meredith's doting voice. It looked as if she had just arrived. Her cafeteria garb was visible underneath her coat and her purse lay at her side. She  _would_  have her shift now.

"Hey," he replied weakly, glancing not so subtly at the box in his hands.

"What is that?" He stared in reply. This sweet old granny. Here he was lying to a sweet old granny.

"I- You see," he couldn't do it. She peered over her glasses at him in the least threatening, least intimidating gesture. He still felt sweat run down his spine. "Lativia was holding onto something for me."

"She was..." Lativia was a daredevil, now she's suspecting! Uh! Uh-

"I'm a bit sick," he muttered weakly, staring at the box. "So, if I could leave to rest in my bed..."

Her eyebrows flurried into worry. "And you haven't told the counsellors because..."

She didn't even have to ask. She knew. Meredith really was too much of a concerned caring adult. It was nice, if he could admit so. He sighed, "They'd have to list it on my record, the court could decide that I didn't fulfill the full three weeks... I just don't want to complicate things."

He felt a sneeze coming on, which for once he didn't stifle. He sniffled for good measure. "I'm sure it will be good in a day," he promised.

She looked as if she wanted to say more. Instead, she relented, watching with worried eyes as he walked past. He tried his best to look away. As he slowly made his way to the cabins, he noticed campers already returning.  _Class is over already?_

He looked toward the front of the crowd- was that Akechi looking for him. He walked toward his cabin with newly invigoured haste, careful not to look and not to give off any clues to his sickness. He just had to have the farthest cabin, huh-

He made it inside. With a rush of breath, he threw the box under Ryuji's bed before running outright into his bathroom. From within he heard a knock, then another. He emerged from the bathroom, face sufficiently washed to hide the pre-existing redness around his nose. He looked into the mirror once, and yeah, he didn't look  _too_ bad.

He walked hesitant to the door. What excuse would Akechi use for following him when he couldn't prove he was up to something (and when it wasn't the something he was expecting.) What possible-

"I know you're there." He jumped. Akechi's muffled voice scared him out of his thoughts. He heard a sigh, "You- left rather early today. Although I am suspicious, that wasn't what I was hoping to talk to you about. Uh, you mentioned hanging out before I left-"

"It's not locked."

His voice paused, as if surprised he spoke back. "W-what?"

"The door. It's never locked."

"...Ah."  
  
With the decision left to Akechi, he couldn't honestly say he wanted it to open. Yet, he knew he would have to for his plan to work. He could laugh. His  _plan._  His hand clenched the doorknob tense. He pushed it away, seeing Akira in the artificial light of the cabin. He looked rather haggard, if he could admit. His eyes didn't hold the same teasing quality, the same sharpness.

'Are you sure you're not sick?' He wanted to ask.

"So," Akira smirked, though it felt lukewarm compared to the usual candor. "You want to hang out?"

Oh, yes. He did say that. His left hand wrings the back of his shirt, hopefully just out of view. His eyes dart over Akira's shoulder. He eyed the mess beyond of all three boy's clashing tastes. He spoke quietly, meeting Akira's gaze with a nod. "If you're not predisposed..."

"Where did you want to go?"

   
He knew the reason he called Akira out. He knew it involved gaining trust, and growing bounds, and oddly staccato hearts. He sat in the grass with Akira for his own gain entirely. And for that purpose, it felt entirely too fulfilling.  
  
Could Goro admit to himself, as the sun overhead met three quarters past the sky, that he enjoyed somebody's attention? That as much as he was here to keep in check the only other dangerous person at the camp, he found himself laughing like he had during the bonfire. Or even before that, when he had acted annoyed, knowing part of him was amused by Akira's antics.  
  
It was incredibly dangerous to think like that. Incredibly stupid to admit it. Yet, he couldn't stop himself from knowing. He couldn't force himself to forget about  _this_ too. He stopped himself from caring about the murder he would inherit, he stopped thinking of the lives he took away- for a moment. It always came back.  
  
Just like this thought. Here he was, laughing at something Akira had pointed out- some odd act his friends had committed, or something he overheard- and then this came. This intrusive sadness, hatred, reason. It halted his happiness, it provided insight. It stilted the scene.  
  
Akira noticed. After all, Akechi's laugh had cut off abruptly, without any visible viable reason. "What are you thinking?"  
  
Akechi looked up at the tree above. He answered honestly, "The inevitable." He could feel Akira's eyes on his. Nevermind he couldn't look Akira in the eyes if he wanted to.  
  
"I'm also looking forward to the heat death of the universe," he grinned.  
  
Akechi laughed, watching that grin from the corner of his eye. His head tilted towards Akira, finally facing him again.  
  
The smile grew in It's sincerity, "Do you... want to talk about it?"  
  
Akechi smiled back. "No, thank you. I would rather enjoy right now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo mostly akechi pov which worked out cuz i didnt admit akiras still sick til way late in the chapter ;)  
> This one was ok ;^)  
> If there are typos or things i forgot to fix! Im sorry! I will notice them eventually or u can comment


	9. Day 9: Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha... disappears for 10 days but i wrote 11.5k this time! Maybe too long, //rubs neck  
> Its.... a whole lotta akeshu.... maybe too much??? just very much a build up to the other chapters- i wouldnt expect them to alwaysss be this long (or take this long to write)  
> Also yay i can tag this as a sick fic

"Remember that time Akira got sick in fifth grade after covering himself in chicken feed and wandering outside to try and feed the homeless?"

"Remember that time Akira saved a burning bus full of children from crashing into the lost city of Atlantis?"

"Atlantis is underwater, so how was the school bus on fire-"

"Remember how Akira  _skipped_  the most important meal of the day, probably to hang out with Akechi?"

The rest of the group laughed while they pointed out more inconsistencies-

"We don't  _know_ he's with Akechi-"

"Whose ass would he be up otherwise?"

"...there are  _some_  cute campers-"

"Whoa, whoa- guys!" Futaba pointed with abandon at the counsellor who had just walked in to help with breakfast. Goro Akechi walked toward the back of the cafeteria as if he were the only one around, angel wings fluttering behind him as he ignored catcalls and jabs alike. Futaba squinted closer, "Akira's not there!"

Yusuke rolled up one of his sketchbook papers, looking through to stare at Akechis  _empty_  ass with a gasp, "She's right!"  
  
It was sooo nice his friends were so worried about him, he thought as he scrambled up, woozy and club-footed before falling back onto his pillow. "Guys, I'm here. I left his humble asshole universe to greet- Guys?"

He looked around, staring at the state of his empty cabin. The lack of ass momentarily put aside by his search for a clock and- oh, good. Only eight. Breakfast wouldn't be half over. Akira allowed himself to relax, collapsing into his bed again as his eyes shut. What an odd fucking dream.

He's not  _delusional,_  so he's not seriously sick. Every time he got deliriously ill, he hallucinated and covered himself in various materials. If he's only dreaming crazy, he's still fine! That's what he tells himself, laid in bed with his head dripping snot onto his sheets. That's what he's going to say if anyone else notices, too. Quickly, he ran a hand blind to find a tissue and he sticks one up his nostril. His head hurts when he eyes the bright light of the morning. His skull throbs when he lifts it off his pillow. His body is beginning to ache with a familiar soreness. This is fine.  
  
He started to walk. He felt better already! He began to stuttor in his steps. He felt amazing! He teetered closer to the wall of his cabin, leaning against the side as if he were completely aloof to the world. People passed him by nodding, he nodded back with his arms crossed. His phone out for appearances though he couldn't read what was on the screen because looking too closely hurt. He determinedly... went back into his cabin. He splashed water onto his face, watching as his reflection sneezed back at him.

He doesn't  _look_  sick yet. His eyes watered, but that was easily hidden behind his frames. His nose wasn't red but it would be if he kept blowing tissue. His pale skin... he was always pale (maybe not this pale). He looked fine, he surmised. This time he remembered to put on jeans instead of pajama pants when he left. He made his way normal to his regular table. His friends greeted him amicably.

"You look like shit."

"That's an ongoing condition in my life," Akira slid onto the bench, stealing Futaba's fries while he eyed Ryuji. "I'd rather you not out me like that to the rest of the world."

"Seriously," Ann chirped. "Are you okay?"

He waved away her worries, "Didn't sleep well."

Yusuke's voice rang through the eery buzz starting to settle in Akira's ears. "That's odd. You seemed quite lethargic this morning."

"Oh," he barely heard himself speak, "it may have looked that way, but it was actually pretty..."

They waited. He could feel himself slipping through cracks in space as if he were liquid. He was oozing onto the floor before, during, and after all the commotion and yelling to follow. Time blended backward into itself. Mostly, he fell backward off the bench and hit his head. He coughed out the end of his sentence while his friends rushed out of their seats. "...Pretty shit..." then he lost consciousness.

  
  
"Fucking really, Akira?" Akechi swore under his breath. He had one collapsed Akira in a chair in the counsellors office; his hands shook the other boy by his limp shoulders. He was asleep, obviously. Akechi sighed, eyes betraying his concern. Last night... Were you this bad?  
And I never noticed?

His fingertips dig in the other boys back. Somewhere behind him he heard the door open and familiar voices stampede inside.

"Come on," said one worried voice, "We gotta get him into bed!"

"We'll be missing class..."

"Come on, Inari! It's worth it for Akira!"

Akechi felt himself twitch. He heard one last voice behind him, "Oi, Akechi! We can take it from here!"

Akechi twisted his head to face them, releasing his grip on Akira's shoulders. "I'll be the one to take care of him." He stated it as if it were obvious.

Ryuji gaped, "You!?"

"In a way, this is my fault." He inclined his head toward Akira, "I was the one who thought him to be sick. I should have pushed it, yet I chose to believe him."

He's in a vulnerable state, thought Akechi. He'll be weak, unable to think through his words and instead answer me truthfully when I question him. Some of the most honest conversations they would ever have, and if he was lucky Akira would remember nothing.

Perhaps his smile showed on his face when he least wanted it. Futaba rose from the crowd, "We can take care of him!"

Akechi stared at them, then glanced to Shiho behind them. He spoke. "I'm trained for this. Do you know how to best handle someone's illness? What about in the added case of injury? We're not quite sure what he even has, so for now-"

"It's just a cold!"

"And if you catch it?" His eyes flashed dangerously at Ryuji. "Not many of you are here without the government's insistence. If they were to learn you spent days playing nurse rather than rehabilitate- or worser still, got sick yourself-"

"Why would they have to find out?"

Threatening tones. Angry glares. Surprise as Shiho spoke up behind them. "We're in charge here. We would have to report it." Her tone was apologetic, of course they would forgive her. "Besides, I trust Akechi."

In that moment, he was glad not to gain Shiho's suspicions. Playing along to her false hope had all paid off. "And I will do my best for a camper," he smiled. "If it is a cold, as you think, he'll be better with more than bark soup or barely learnt first aid."

"What does that mean?" Yusuke's voice, angry for once.

"You're woefully inexperienced. And a terribly loud group... Had you noticed that Akira fainting meant he might be suffering from a headache? Or a migraine, both which may worsen with more loud noise." He walked toward the door, "I should go prepare-"

"Hey! We weren't finished talking!"

He turned his head slightly, levelling them with a glare out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry. This was never a discussion."

 

  
"Hello, Akira."

He stares at his surroundings. Underneath him is a soft bed. His soft bed? It feels familiar, warm and constricting. In front of him, gloriously close, is Akechi; hazy in the natural light. It seemed somebody turned off the cabins lights and opened all the curtains. He saw dust glitter behind his head, the wall behind him bathed in golden brown hues. Akechi's eyes are open enough he sees joy (and he feels he should be more concerned but he physically  _can't),_  the world is spinning but less so the more he concentrates on that tentative smile.

"Is this heaven?"

He laughed. Bells on a church. He missed the snort he gave once, the honest display of mirth. Why was he ever shut out-

_'I will deal with you myself'_

"You retained an injury during a fainting spell."

He stilled. That was why he felt so distorted? "Is it a concussion?"

"We doubt it." Even through the haze he feels Akechi's fingers skit through his hair. He can't see the fingers without turning his head; and he can't turn his head without pain, or without erasing Akechi from his eyes. A question is on his lips before he could speak it.

Akechi's scratches hurt faintly, his whole body more sensitive due to sickness, but he didn't want to tell him to stop. "Your head injury seemed to be minimal bruising. You're likely suffering from a headache, a migraine-" His smile got tighter as the hand in his hair turned into a fist. He wants to wince, but he pushes it down. Not very well, he thinks, by the small upheaval of Akechi's smile.

He leaned in dangerously close, maybe just enough to hear Akira's heart beat erratically. "You're resting because of your fever. I'll be looking over you while you're exempt from activities today. Do you know- how this reflects on me, not to help before it got this far?"

The hand pulled tight, "Do-" an inhale, "Do you know how worried I was?"

He got up, taking away Akira's shield from the light. He shut his eyes as he heard a tired sigh. "You're quite lucky I'm even here," he admitted somewhere in front of Akira. Sitting on the empty bed? "Your friends thought it would be best for them to treat you."

He let it sink in. Akira groaned.

"Yes, I thought that too."

Akira paused, taking the time to open his eyes and see Akechi with his arms crossed and his legs curled against the side of the bed. "I'm glad it's you."

Akechi blinked. Starting so soon? He stared before speaking.  _Honestly was the best policy._  "Likewise. I would be tormented with the thought of staying in this room if it were another camper."

"I'm tormented just being stuck here."

"Yet you're glad?"

He attempted to lift himself up to face Akechi, settling for the one elbow he could keep posed. His next comment is just leaving his throat when he sneezed, face instinctively going into his shoulder.

Akechi arrives at his side with a tissue, the box held in his other hand. "I forgot to place this by you," he explained away as Akira grasps more finger than tissue.

"Thanks," he croaked out, the pad of his thumb still lingering on the back of the other boys hand. He takes it urgently when he feels another sneeze.

"Thank Okumura," he heard Akechi mutter, his hands held tight in eachother now; his own thumb going over that  _same spot_  as he leaves the tissuebox on the bedside table. "She bought all supplies. I think these are those...er, lotion ones."

He lifts his eyebrows at Akechi's oddly constructed sentence. "Cool," he sighed before laying himself down fully. "What am I missing for class, teach?"

An unexpected laugh bubbles out of Akechi, "I never expected the first thing you'd worry about to be camp. We're simply going over supplies for tomorrow, procedures to follow. Your friends will know what to do."

A lazy grin teeters Akira's face. "You're all I need."

"H-huh?" He jumped, one hand tentatively moving forward to the other boys forehead. "Is your fever worse than we suspected?"

Akira was tempted to shake his head, instead he leaned into Akechi's touch. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. His mouth felt like it was made of half finished cotton, breaking apart the more he tried to speak. "Nah. Well, yes. I feel like... shit. But, you already know way more than my friends..."

"Yes?" A nervous smile as he padded his thumb along akiras brow.

"So why would I... rely on them?" His eyes felt heavy too. Heat was radiating off his head, the other boys cool hand the one grounding thing as his vision grew dark. Unknowingly, he closed his eyes. A yawn disrupts his thoughts, his next sentence sent into a void of forgotton things. "You're..."

Akechi's voice broke through the muffling darkness. "Oh, you must be tired. You should-"

"I'm fine." He mumbled, lifting his head further. He forced his eyes awake, eyes sliding to stare at Akechi's hand still embalmed on his skin. "Id rather," another yawn, "enjoy a day off."

"If you're tired, you shouldn't force yourself awake for some arbitrary excuse." His voice was biting.

Akira smiled. "Why... do I feel like you don't follow your own advice?"

The hand that was cradling him leaves to flick his forehead, "Sleep."

Akira pouts back into bed. He whines, "but, Akechi..."

Goro lifts an eyebrow at his antics. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

It's a whisper, sounding so much more sacred than intended. In his head, he knows it was meant to be teasing. A playful antic he shouldn't give into, another tie he'll have to break through- "I promise," he smiles at the boy in bed who finally shuts his eyes.

Recently, Goro's gotten in the habit of doing a lot of things he shouldn't.

With a sigh, Goro twisted around to rummage in the bag he brought, a thermometer revealed in his grasp at last. "Now, how sick are you..."

He checked the calender out in the open on Ryuji's side, 1980's Chinese Star Wars staring at him from the august month. Eyes glanced through the days. The storm was one, two, three days ago... he glanced back at the now obviously sleeping boy. His deep breathing the only sound.

"Akira?" No response. He stared openly.

Being around him evoked a loss of balance in Akechi. Where he was normally able to steer his relationships with others- he found himself moving to Akira's tide more often than not.

Staring at him now, it was hard to imagine how vulnerable he made him feel. The dynamic between them in this moment was contrary to normal. He slipped the thermometer into his mouth, keeping one firm hand on it in case he woke. His hair had mussed around him, becoming more of a bird's nest than usual, fluffed against his pillow as it was. Thin tendrils of hair stuck to the circumference of his face. His skin was sallow and clammy to the touch, yet he still felt driven to make sure with his own hand against his- he wiped away the hair from his face.

His glasses laid overtop his desk. The tissuebox next to it. His phone next to that. He still lay in his clothes from this morning, nobody making any effort to change him out of them. Akechi would have to ask him to do so later. He removed the thermometer as it beeped and- yes, it was a high fever.

He dutifully prepared a washcloth, cold and damp in the bathroom sink. His reflection stared back at him, no matter how he directed his attention to the work at hand. Haunted eyes. Honest eyes. A dead man's eyes. He scoffed at himself, blinking away the imagery as it pounded against his skull. He left the bathroom.

When someone has a fever, the main focus in care is to cool them down so their body can take care of it quicker. Akechi laid the cool compress against his forehead, noticing the layers Akira had pulled over himself in his sleep. He must be hot under his blanket. He pulled it back until it rested only on his legs. His eyes narrowed in on the revealed hoodie underneath.  _I suppose we shouldn't wait for you to wake up..._

With a sigh he began to remove it, zipping down the front with a jolt, revealing a white shirt muddled in sweat. He pulled the sleeves of the sweater off, carefully dictating Akira's hands.

He stared at the boy. That was likely all he should do for now. The hoodie, he noticed, was rather worn. Grass stains and holes in the pocket. Either well-loved or abused. It was equally hard to tell if it was the article held in his grip or the rest of the room that smelt so familiarly Akira. He threw the hoodie onto Ryuji's bed.

Food. He should prepare food. (Thin soups are best for providing fluid. Fevers require, contrary to belief, a lot of calories while the immune system fights). Akira's phone catches the light from it's spot on his bedside table. Food.

* * *

 He thinks he dreams it. A boy floating around the room, exploring items as if they're his own. His eyes are almost open himself, neat slits, but through the fog he sees Akechi open his suitcase on the empty bed. 

He won't remember it.

* * *

He woke to melodious song, a faint whisper under the persons breath. As if they didn't want to be heard. It comes from directly beside him. He lies down listening for a minute before opening his eyes. He twists his head right (it hurt less than before), to see Akechi is staring off into the window. His face is devoid of any smile as his lips move in an imitation of sincerity.

Not to say that he's not sincere, just- his eyes are pained in a way that reminds Akira of trying to replicate a memory. Akechi sees the shift in movement, halting his voice mid-consonant as his gaze rips from the window to lock eyes with Akira.  
  
"You're up." It's not a question, but he nods.

"You were singing."

A sad smile follows, his eyes distant. "Just something my mother used to lull me to sleep. I thought it was fitting. I didn't think... you would hear." They stare at eachother. "Are you going back to sleep?"

Akira slowly raises his head to take in the ceiling, the slow spinning room surrounding them. His speech is addled by sleep, and his hand reached out from under the covers to grasp the cold rag on his forehead. "No.. Nah, I think I'm good. I'm..."

"Rested?"

Akiras attention was brought back to his smiling carer, "Yeah, close to that."

"How do you feel?"

"My head hurts less, the room is spinning," he smiled through another sneeze. "But you're here."

"You keep saying things... to that effect," his face was a grimace as he looked for the words. Surprisingly, for once, at a loss.

"Does it bother you?"

"... I don't know. I mean," Akechi drops his head to stare at his hands. "I'm not sure what message you're trying to get across."

"You don't have  _any_  ideas?" Akira asks, fully sitting upright. His headache is a dull pain in the back of his head. He scoots to the edge of his bed, dragging a pillow to hold onto as he faces Akechi head on.

"Well, there's nobody else here to take the joke," Akechi heard the movement above him, almost looks up. His fingers flex instead. He watched as Akira reached out to hold one of his hands. His processes must be stunted, for he nearly finishes a sentence before he fully noticed. "Of course I have ideas-"

"Sorry," Akira is already mumbling. "I'm just... your hand was really cold before." He looks up at Akechi's baffled stare. "You're really cold."

A startled bitter snicker comes out of Akechi as he grasps Akira's other hand in his. "I've been told before, yes."

He rolled his eyes, then winced as the movement did something jarring to his headache. "Not like that..."

Akechi eyed him in quiet contemplation, "Are you saying that in your experience with me..."

"Cold? I don't know if I know you that well."

Akechi nodded, looking away as he swung their hands together. "We're just full of uncertainty."

The birds outside were quiet, the wind rattled leaves against the farside window, and the hum of silence permeated the room. Slow, Akira turned to face the alarm, asking his question just as Akechi spoke.

"What's the time?" "Are you hungry?"

Akira twisted back to see Akechi watching him. "A little bit," he replied honestly, squeezing their conjoined hands.

"It's after ten. You've slept for maybe an hour."

"Has it been boring?"

Akechi's red eyes light up in their own smile. "Are you ever boring?"

He smiled back. His next sentence leaves his mouth to become a gargle of acid and fluid. Oh, no, that was his stomach. He watched Akechi get up, their hands parting. It seemed to happen too fast.

"I need to prepare food," Akechi admitted as he headed for the door. "I never- well, I was preoccupied." He took a look down Akira's frame. "You should change into something lighter."

He's tempted to say, 'You promised you wouldn't leave,' or something to that effect. Instead, he gave a nod.

A curt reply, "I'll be back soon." And a door closing quietly. He collapsed back onto the bed, arms spread out as he sighs.  
  
His pants are newly replaced for shorts, his sweaty shirt discarded for a darker grey one. He ran a towel down his head, trying to dispel the sweat (he fell asleep in that towel for a few minutes). He finds his phone next to him in bed, lying flat. Now would have been a great time for that number... he texts Futaba instead. The bright light of the phone is dulled if he squints just so.

  **AKIRA:**  hows the lesson?  
**FUTABA:**  like a giant lecture ! it hasnt stoppd bro!  
**FUTABA:**  it just! keeps! happening !  
**AKIRA:**  sucks to b you ;3  
**FUTABA:**  im not the 1 dying at the hands of light yagami  
**FUTABA:**  how is it going  
**AKIRA:**  hes being gr899  
**FUTABA:**  it feels wrong leaving u vulnerable w anyone  
**AKIRA:** i"ve got it all undercover  
**AKIRA:**  underCONTROL*  
**FUTABA:**  freudian slip HUH bruh  
**AKIRA:**  ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
**AKIRA:**  anything else fun

The door in front of him opened to reveal Akechi walking in with a tray of chicken noodle soup, carefully watching the bowl balanced in his arms. A water bottle crinkled in the crook of his elbow, along with a pill bottle rolling around the tray fitfully. He closed the door with a kick.

"I'm back," he announced, posthumously. "I have tylenol for the headache. It won't speed recovery, but," Akechi attempted a shrug as he held onto the various items. All that happened was an array of noise and the pills to land on the wooden floor with a clunk. He sighed, "Well."

Akira laughed at the display, reaching over to pick up the pill bottle before it rolled away further. He nearly falls to the floor himself. Distantly, he registered the continuous vibration in his hand as Futaba filled him in. "You tried. Thanks."

Akechi walked over to Akira's bed, watching the floor beneath his feet for anything obstructing (paintbrushes, paint rolls, oddly piled shirts). He laid the tray next to the other boy, grabbing the water bottle to toss onto the bed.

"So," he intoned, sitting next to Akira yet still keeping the tray between them. "I would like to take your temperature again."

"If you need to," Akira nodded shortly, taking the tray in hand and grabbing the spoon somewhat greedily. Now that food was in front of him, the dull hunger grew to a roar. "Can I eat first?"

"... Sure," Akechi hadn't stopped staring at Akira's hands. He tried not to notice, yet his gaze burnt through the utensil he was holding.

He looked up. "What're you thinking?"

Akechi's eyes rose to the other's face, a small degree of shock at being caught. "If you're too warm. I think I..." he trailed off, unsure. "I can open a window."

That wasn't what he was going to say. Akira let it drop, head still a bit too static to question the idea. "That sounds fine."

Akechi lifted himself from the bed, his indent rising with him. The window behind Akira makes a creak of protest. He can feel a slight breeze. Akechi spoke behind him. "It's actually quite humid out, but the wind itself is refreshing."

He had to agree, biting down on hot soup. The cold wind brought relief to his sweat slick neck. They stayed in companionable silence; Akira, dutifully eating the meal prepared (a few tylenols downed as well); Akechi, behind him doing who knew what. He remembered faintly that Futaba had been texting him.

Without looking back he snaked a hand down his bed for his phone. He hits another hand, apologizing through a mouth of soup. Akechi quietly asks, "Phone?" before rummaging behind and placing it in his hand.

Akira swallowed the spoonful of noodle before he glanced behind him. "Thanks." Truly, the messages in his phone had gone unread for too long.

 **FUTABA:**  ann can do pretty good impressions  
**FUTABA:**  altho her interpretation of mothman lacks the gritty realism i expect from a hard boiled cryptoid  
**FUTABA:**  ryuji and yusuke are rating campers but theyre both misunderstanding the others criteria  
**FUTABA:**  and B4 i forget  
**FUTABA:**  u need to call that guy soon and let him kno we cant show up for game night  
**FUTABA:**  he kinda relies on us to kill the shadows  
**FUTABA:**  and i kno theyve gotten worse  
**FUTABA:**  maybe u should let him know we wont b coming back soon :p  
  
'That guy'. Shadows. So Sojiro would be calling soon, huh? Or would he have to contact him? He files that away for later, using his time for better things. Like looking at the boy behind him. Akechi lifted an eyebrow at his blatant stare.

"Are your friends coping without you?"

"Something like that," he nodded. His head felt heavy with the movement. His eyes wanted to close.

"Are you tired again?"

He smiled. "Yeah. But I just realized, you never got the chance to take my temp."

"Oh," Akechi flitted around the bed looking for the discarded thermometer; in the end he finds it trapped away in a wet wipe. "That's right," he muttered, "I thought it would be unsanitary lying around."

"Right," Akira nodded, grabbing his towel to loosely wrap around his neck. "Where does that go?"

"Just your mouth," he replied, holding the thermometer upright. Akira eyed it, dully aware the smart thing would be to take the thermometer out of Akechi's hand and use it himself. The smart thing... The s _mart thing._  But he also really wanted to do this. And it seemed like a really good idea to his sick-crazy brain. 

 He leaned forward, taking the thermometer in his mouth. "Hey," he muttered through the obstruction, "Pocky game?"

Akechi noted the wink he gave with a sigh, simply watching with an amused stare. He held it in place. The device beeped, and his suspicions were confirmed. "Your fevers gone  _up!"_

He knew there was no way Akira would have said those things in a right state of mind. He ran his hand nervously through his hair. "The fieldtrip is tomorrow... We can't have you missing it."

Akira squeezed Akechi's arm, grabbing his attention from the solutions running through his head. He sounded exasperated. "It's fine."

"No, it's the only preparation to your week long trip, we can't have you missing it-"

He laughed. "I won't. If I'm still sick tomorrow, I can just fake it again."

Akechi glowered at the boy in front of him. "If you're sick tomorrow, you'd be incapacitated by your own inability to move. Look at you, you're already..."

"What?"

"So vulnerable," he muttered, fed up. "I'm sure you'd like to pretend you can handle it, but can you not paint me a fool who would believe the same lies you do?"

Akira blew the wind out of himself, landing with a huff on his back. He yawned as he talked. "It doesn't matter if I can handle it. I'd continue even if I were exhausted."

"Really?" Akechi sat closer to the boy.

He nodded, "It's what I always do."

Like what? In what? Akira had his eyes shut, face warm in the heat of the open window, not noticing Akechi's vulture stare. His moment had come. How to word this...

Eye for an eye. Akechi leaned over the sick boy slightly, his own sigh filtering through air. "I know what it's like to push yourself... but," he struggled to speak, "but perhaps  _you_  can enlighten me as to why-"

"Do you?" Akira gazed at Akechi with eyes parallel to his own. Akechi's hairs stand on end. Wasn't Akira displaying himself without thought to the boy? Then... this was another side of him.

"I do. You may not believe me, but on the topic of acting against one's will," he tsked, avoiding eye contact to close his eyes wide shut. "I have been compelled to..."

Whispers. "Like the phonecall?"

His reply is tense. "I thought we would never mention that."

He shrugged, "Just a question."

Akechi turned back to the boy. Eyes sharp, staring intently. Nose red. He didn't seem smug about bringing it up. Akechi strained himself to answer honestly, "Yes. The... phone call."

"You're wrong, though." He said it as if he'd rather not. "I don't do anything against my will. I push myself for the people depending on me..."

Akechi moved forward, too tense to sit, overshadowing the window to tower over him. He took a deep breath. "I find that hard to believe."

His voice got fainter. "What do you push yourself for?"

He carried on as if he never heard it. "There must have been moments in your life you regret what you've done; where you chose wrong, the easier option mocking you in the end."

Akira pulled on the other boy's shirt, forcing him to balance on either side of Akira's head. His eyes had a fire unlike the rest of his sickly pale countenance. They squinted in concentration. "I wish I could have been there. To stop whatever bad choice you made..."

Akira's eyes closed completely, breaths evening out over the span of moments. Akechi's own were a haggard mess. He stared, wishing to take back the last minute of his life.

 His eyes roamed the surface of the bed. He had already been as good as caught. He sat next to the sleeping boy, staring at one spot in particular. His heart would not stop racing. He... his eyes roamed toward the cold compress.

Right. Akira is sick. His top priority as a counsellor was to help; his second goal was to snuff him out. He only wished he wouldn't remember that.

 

Akira woke up this time utterly freezing. An ice bag laid on his chest, the cold compress barely memorable in the sinking cold of water against his skin. He picked off the bag just as he saw Akechi return to the room with another one. Shivers wracked him wide awake. His voice was wet in phlegm. "What...?"

Akechi straightened immediately. "If we're to cure you of a three day fever, I thought we should pull out all the stops. And, hopefully..." his voice trailed off, "You could forgive me for the outburst earlier."

"Oh," Akira raised himself to sitting position, ice bag shifting, thinking over what he said. He felt awake in the cold of his room, every nerve alight in cold sweat. He coughed until his throat was clear. "No. Shouldn't I apologize? I don't really remember..."

"Still..." Akechi walked over, "It was unkind."

"You act as if you have to be nice all the time."

He smiled, plopping the ice onto his lap before walking back toward the door. Akira nonchalantly tipped it sideways off of him. "You wouldn't like me otherwise."

"I liked you just fine when you were being an asshole."

"...I suppose that's true." He had a thoughtful glimmer before adopting the same amused look from when they'd first met, smugness radiating as if his next point was impossible to refute.  _"They_  wouldn't like me otherwise?"

"Ha ha?"

Akechi smiled toward the door, twisting it carefully. "It  _is_  funny in a way. Which reminds me, it's about to be lunch. You're due for visitors."

"Wait!" Akira called out. Akechi paused, noting that he at least sounded more alert. "You're not... getting more ice, are you?"

A laugh. "Weren't you listening? It's lunch. I hope you can stomach a sandwich from the caf."

He let the other boy go with that. Akira, slowly swimming in his ice bags, carefully moved out of their mess to peek under Ryuji's bed. If it really was lunch soon...  
  
**AKIRA:**  you guys r coming for the money rite  
**RYUJI:**  SHIT BRO i honestly forgot  
**AKIRA:**  i thought so  
**AKIRA:**  akechis not here so rush over  
**AKIRA:**  how was class  
**RYUJI:**  ann can do a pretty good mothman impression  
**RYUJI:**  and of course we learnt shit but none of thats gonna matter rn  
**RYUJI:**  ENOUGH about class! how are u???  
**AKIRA:**  you'll kno when u see me  
  
He thought about texting the rest of them (Ryuji texting and walking at the same time seemed disastrous in Akira's diseased mind) but the boy showed up relatively soon, leaning on the doorway as he sent out another text. "Hey! You still look like shit," he snickered.

Akira rolled his eyes, slipping a hand out to grab the box. He abandoned his phone to hand the spoils to his bro. "We never counted it, you know."

Ryuji took it with vigour, "We can do it at the end of today," he and Akira shared a bro-tenial fistbump. "The rest of them are still coming- I ran for this!"

He smiled, "Cool. You might want to meet up with them first. Akechi is in the cafeteria, so," he shrugged away the rest of his sentence, noting the box with a wave of his hand.

Ryuji nodded, "Got it. We'll be coming to check up on you, you know. Only reason we couldn't was Makoto going ham on the slideshows... It wasn't pretty. Kids were falling asleep."

Ryuji took a step inside the cabin, "The frick's with the ice?" He turned to give Akira a look, pausing to gape at the scene behind him, "And someone's been through my shit!"

"...You sure?" Akira stared at the same mess Ryuji was looking at, noting that the clutter was as organized as it always was. Which wasn't.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking- but I know where everything goes in my shit pile, and someone moved like... half the shirts."

Oh. Akira paused in front of the crimescene. "That might've been me," he admitted. "I was looking for a spare one like an hour ago."

Ryuji tsked. "I feel like my mom repeating shit, but you got your own clothes, man!"

He shrugged. He didn't  _remember_  going through Ryuji's clothes, but he could also admit not remembering half of what he did with Akechi today. So, clearly his mind wasn't to be trusted. "Shouldn't you be scamming people by now?"

"Yeah, yeah," he started making his way to the door. "Stay safe with your warden, okay?"

A snort interrupted mid-way with a sneeze (he  _rushed_  for tissue after that) "I'll try."

The door opened before either of them could get to it. Ryuji froze in spot next to the door, planted to the wall. Akechi walked in with two sandwiches, not sparing a glance anywhere but Akira. He smiled, "They had egg salad and roast beef today. I wasn't sure which you preferred," he juggled one in each hand, "I'm fine with either, personally."

Ryuji, as quiet as a teenager holding a rattling box of money and other valuables, slowly edged toward the door (whose entrance had been left wide open). Akira made sure to keep his focus on Akechi, shifting from sandwich to sandwich as if he were actually debating the choice.

"Is it really so tough?" Akechi teased, belatedly looking behind him to close the door. He found Ryuji walking backward out of the cabin, "Oh, Sakamoto-kun, did you need something? Perhaps to put away your... box?"

He meeped. That was the sound Ryuji made when faced with authority. With a sheepish grin and a hand nervously scratching his chin he replied, "Just thought I left something here. But. I didn't."

Akechi turned back to Akira with a look he hadn't wanted Ryuji to see. His eyes rolled far into his head and a quirk of his eyebrows that communicated he had known all along Ryuji was inside. "Is that so. Akira?"

Ryuji ran, tire tracks left in his place. God speed, ponyboy. Akira pointed to the roast beef, "No contest."

He smiled, "Of course. Would you like to enlighten me as to what that was?"

"Over lunch?" He winked, taking the proffered meal and resting on the empty bed, as his own was leaking condensation. He did take Yusuke and Ryuji's pillows though (thanks!), stacking them in a pile for the two to rest against. And, of course, he downed a few more headache reliefs and his tissuebox was well-loved.

He was even feeling good enough to impair his vision, putting on his glasses and sharing a meal with Akechi wherein he detailed their exploits of being left under the care of an ex-convict herself, and his own lack of a hand in the actual inner workings, and offering him a cut of the money because he had belatedly realized that he had just told his position-of-authority crush an illegal thing to impress him.

It seemed to work, though.

A slow grin spread over Akechi's face that he tried to hide away with his hand. "How innovative."

Akira paused in place, slouching against the pillows. "You don't care? You're not going to stop them?"

Akechi had his face tucked away fully, his arm and hand overshadowing it as he hid. He thought he could hear short breaths of laughter, "O-Of course I care. Upholding the rules unbiasedly is part of being a good counsellor, isn't it?

His hand lowered, he let his face be curtained by his hair as a smile broke through. "Except truthfully, all matters aside, I am not a good counsellor. And if doing so would make you upset... Why would I bother for a position I cannot attain."

"I think you're a good counsellor," he gave him a thumbs up and all.

"Of course you do," he looked at Akira without looking into him, avoiding his eyes and thinking of anyone else in his place. "You seem to enjoy anything I do."

"I do," he confessed, red worming into his face. He wondered if Akechi could distinguish it from the red that plagued him from sickness. "Of course I do. Don't you know why?"

Akechi stuffed his face with his remaining egg salad, reverting his attention to it's plastic container. Akira clambered to get into his personal space, leaning further his way; overstepping their unspoken boundaries as he soon took up both Ryuji  _and_  Yusuke's pillows. For Akechi, it was getting increasingly difficult to look anywhere but Akira when the boy seemed to be filling up his vision.

"I meant what I said, you know." He whispered. "I-"

"AAAKIRA!" if it wasn't his good natured, well-meaning, badly-timed friend Ann, and her dog Ryuji too. He heard Akechi sigh in relief. Their audience slowly noticed the position the two were in, their cozier rendition of kabedon easily parted as they both jumped to sit on opposite ends of the bed. "We thought you'd want some company," Ann explained. "Yusuke and Futaba are busy, uh, eating..."

"So you came here with food in hand because your other friends are occupied... eating." Akechi mocked, a hand to his chin in an exaggeration of thought. Akira laughed beside him, "Come in."

They all laid in varying degrees around the room. Once Ann sat on Akira's bed across from them and away from the ice ("It's seeping through the mattress!") And Ryuji thought it was a timely practice to rest on both Yusuke's and the empty bed at the same time ("Resting my leg, or whatever.") Akechi thought it was the perfect moment to stand, seeming to sense the bond they shared as muddled when he came into view.

( _It's true. Looking around at how they fit in so comfortably around eachother, and then seeing_  you _is like seeing an elderly woman's attempt at reparation of the Ecce Homo_ )

He conceded the ice melting away under the heat of the window was a bad idea, throwing the heavier bag at Akira with a warning, "At least hold onto it," before leaving with the more melted bag to dump it in the correct freezer to be born anew.

Coincidentally leaving their little lunch unstained by his presence. Lunch etiquette by Akechi: Super Simple Stuff.

  
  
"Okay," Akira braced himself, "I'm ready."

Ann glared at him, running a hand through her hair to point at the sick boy. Her brow twitched. Her voice was hoarse, a croaked out whisper. "You wouldn't understand. Half moth, half man. My life is cocooned in pain as I search... for my eternal light."

They clapped. Ann shrugged, "I tried adding in the roughness Futaba mentioned."

Ryuji hollered, "Way better than Yusuke's bird cries."

Ann laughed at Akira's look, "We told him to try Big Bird. Like, sesame street?"

Akira laughed. "I wish I saw that."

"You know," Ryuji started, "You already look like way better. Well," he poked at Akira's nose. "Almost."

Akira looked around the room, rummaging around for the thermometer that turned out to be poking his back. He stuffed it in his mouth. "Could always check."

"Which reminds  _me,"_  Ann got up from her spot, "We should see how lunch is going."

Ryuji snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah- the money! Fingers crossed we scored big," he turned to Akira. "We'll come back and let you know."

He nodded, still laying next to the ice. He watched as they shut the door behind them. Seemingly as if on cue, Akechi returned looking inconspicuous and holding a much smaller ice pack. "Oh, your friends are gone?" he enunciated each word, "What. A. Shame."

"Isn't it? And you, leaving and returning coincidentally when they come and go?" Akira lifted himself from the bed, thermometer sifted from his mouth.

Akechi ignored the jab, "So, your fever?"

He checked the thermometer, "Apparently it's gone down by three degrees."

Akechi gave a sigh of relief. "So the ice is working... If we continue this treatment method for the rest of the day, you should be well enough tomorrow to survive the outdoors."

"Thanks, doc," he handed the thermometer to Akechi, who took it with a genuinely relieved smile. "Can you heal my crushed heart next?"

So much for that. Akechi focussed on the object in his hand, looking at Akira with the thin end running horizontal through his head. He lets himself run on denial. He can't get carried away. "What are your symptoms?"

Akira grinned, staring at the ceiling. "Where do I start. They take my breath away?"

"Asphyxiation?

"My heart goes crazy," he gestures with his arms.

"Palpitations that could lead to cardiac arrest. That's rather serious-"

"I know," Akira laments, one hand over his eyes. He thrusts himself back into bed, "What do I do?"

Akechi paused, lowering the instrument to level a stare at Akira. Lunch was almost over. He still had the rest of the afternoon to work out a plan, and his own twisted array of emotions. Akira peeked between his fingers a bit too honestly. He spoke quietly, "My expertise suggests you..."

  1. Leave it be and let it die, like a plant devoid of sunlight. Starve it.
  2. Confront your virus, your parasitic crush and feed it until you're symbiotically merged.
  3. Take a few antibiotics and come see me in a few days.
  4. Come see me now.



This time it was all of them. Futaba kicked open the door, unaware of the inner turmoil. Ryuji's shout of joy in the harsh blue light reminded him of the hour, despite how tiring it felt as it was. Ann fed Yusuke party blowers until he held five in his mouth.

They all stared. Yusuke blew all five horns, harsh noise erupting from one source. It broke the ice, especially when Akira chucked a bag of ice at them for the assault.

"He has a headache!" Akechi hissed the reminder. They quieted down soon after, glancing from Akechi to the box that held their 'treasure'.

Huh. A viable reason to leave and a chance to escape Akira before he did something stupid. He couldn't move fast enough, his beeline to the door accentuating his sentence; "You're planning to keep him company? I need to gather more materials, so if you could stay..."

The door clicked shut, and the room exploded once more. "I'm pretty sure he just left for 'materials' but okay," was Ann's comment on Akechi before they dived into the loot. Futaba hopped over animatedly to crash onto Akira's side, "You're alive!"

"...And rich?" He ventured.

Ryuji threw the box onto his bed, "You tell me! Dude, we had the whole caf in on it."

Yusuke looked grim, recounting the tale as he proceeded to dump the box. "It's true. It was dangerously close at the end. Those two who were against me were utterly unreadable."

"One was... that girl who always wears skeleton tights?" Ann started separating the pile, money and objects slowly becoming clearer. "And, surprisingly, that spiderman kid!"

Yusuke nodded as he counted through the money. "His imaginary web slinging did little to deter me, and eventually became his undoing." The group leaned in closer. "It became his tell. He got cocky, and stopped paying attention to his actions. Everytime somebody was about to do an action he favoured, he would pretend to websling left. Everytime he thought he was doing poorly, he would swing right."

"Wow," Ryuji exclaimed, slapping the bed as he approached, "What about when he'd start muttering the theme song?"

"That had no pattern. It was very annoying after some time, though."

The group started to count through their earnings, all junk food or items went back into the box. Futaba and Akira sat together, a bit aways.

"Did he call yet?"

"I wish."

She nodded, removing herself to look through the box. She waved around a mango flavoured kit-kat. Valuable. "So, how much money?"

The various donations to their cause varied from two bucks to ten, with most rounding out to five. From the first night alone, where they had maybe twenty kids entrapped, it was a lowball. The second night was what really mattered, evident by the added weight after their lunch session. Now, it should have been...

Ann counted her pile of coins, "I've got maybe sixty."

"A hundred and eighty!" Ryuji shouted.

"... A clean hundred." Yusuke looked up from his pile of tens and fives.

Futaba nodded, "All within calculation. Now, we can't use the same trick twice." She looked at Yusuke. "They'll be expecting you now. Maybe after a while they'll forget and think it was all luck..."

"Until then?" Akira asked from the sidelines.

"We find other games to get good at. Anyone know blackjack?"  
  
Planning took up what little they had left of lunch, and a few curt minutes of their next activity. "More powerpoints," Ann sighed as they all exited the cabin, their money hidden securely inside Ryuji's mattress. An oldie, but a goodie. They said their goodbyes, minds full of schemes. It was decided the money would be split twenty-twenty-sixty, with Yusuke getting most of it and Ann declining her share. Akira simply shrugged, admitting that he didn't deserve any of the money in the first place.

"I'll earn my share," he said instead.

"If you survive," Futaba replied cheekily as she passed.  
  
Akechi came back in a minutes time. "You don't have to do that," were the first words out of Akira's mouth. The other boy gave his own version of a stiff shrug, "It would complicate too much if I started acting too nice to them."

"...Alright." He let it go, face momentarily burning up yet he refused to ice himself. He asked the next question to fill in space. "Where'd you go?"

Akechi smiled, "I just needed my phone charger." He walked over to Akira's seat, running a hand along his forehead.  _"You_  don't have to do that, either. Acting as if you're not as sick as you are."

"Wouldn't it  _complicate_  too much?"

Akechi prattled on, brow furrowed. "This is your temperature improved?"

"It was doing pretty good..." he dragged off, a coughing fit to punctuate the sentence. Akechi stuck the thermometer in his mouth just as it ended. Akira glared, but stayed rooted into place, Akechi's other hand still holding onto his head.

He moved his bangs out of the way, sweat materializing without the ice. "I can't disagree. It  _was_  doing good... One of the reasons ice baths are generally frowned upon is that it can actually cause a spike in temperature if rebounded."

"So... you chose this because...?"

He looked away, rambling. "Well, the other options were sponging you constantly or a tepid bath. I thought those two were... not appropriate. To the situation."

Beep. They looked to his mouth hopefully. "Up by one. Not terrible."

Akira smiled, coughing into his shoulder and face contorting slightly. "Great," he rasped.

He stared. "Your acting is enviable, but it's just the two of us now."

He looked up at Akira's returning stare. Blank eyes in a flush face. He swallowed once, twice.

"Akira. I was here for the morning. Nothing you do will off-put me."

He burst out of his seat and ran to the washroom. He let him, following only after he heard the first hurl. He found him against the toilet, and held back his hair as best as he could. His hand runs down the back of his shirt. "I think it's time for another change of clothes," he whispers behind the sound of retching.  
  
  
Take two. Akira sat in the empty bath, rarely used with the showerhead overtop them. His arms wrapped around his legs as he curled up to fit. Akechi got out disposable gloves (the feeling of having them on irked him erroneously) and a sponge, after careful consideration. Akira laid in his swimshorts while Akechi ran the water, warm and cold. His water bottle was balancing on the rim of the bathtub. Towel hung up to dry, thermometer somewhere safe.

He moved to sit on the edge. "This is what I get for trying to take the easy route... and likewise, you're punished for thinking you can handle your fever on your own."

He wanted to say more. He wanted to swear and bludgeon and berate him. Instead, he stared into the others petulant gaze. "I can get you your phone, if you'd like to risk it."

The bathroom was small, with barely any walking room. Akechi found himself watching Akira steadily. The other wasn't so, swaying back and forth as if he were dizzy at a hot spring. "You're not going to fall asleep here, right?"

"If I do, you'll notice." Akira leaned back against the white wall behind him, relaxing slightly. Small shivers still running through him at the colder-than-not water. A sneeze. "Why don't you just sponge me?"

"... Those work, but not to the level you would suspect. Also, I didn't want to feel like I was taking care of the elderly," he smiled to himself. "And it could take hours before we saw results. I'd estimate we'll only keep you here for maybe forty five minutes. Then you can rest in a neutral environment."

"My bed?"

"Yes. Until then..."

"Know any card games?"  
  
Maybe Akira's pokerface was lacking, and it wasn't unreasonable to assume his game was off due to his predicament. That was what made the first three rounds excusable. It was when Akechi won again, fifth time in a row, that he conceded the other boy was just better.

Akechi thought it was best not to mention his timely relations to various gamblers, debt-collectors and sharks who had all had a hand in raising him. He raised his hand, showcasing his winning cards. "What if we played something different?"

Akira leaned over the edge moreso than he was already. Akechi took the cards from his hands, went through the deck, and started to remove a majority of the cards. "How about... sixty six? It involves math, and..."  
  
  
Akira watched as Akechi lay down his queen and king of the same suit. "Twenty," he laughed to himself. He noticed Akira's confusion, "It's a marriage."

"I do," he replied, head lolling against the tile behind him. "This is an intricate card game to include proposals too."

Akechi felt a slow crawling blush, "It's twenty points, and time for your next card." An alarm went off, heard in the distance. Akechi reached for his phone. Forty-five minutes, up. "You're free to sleep."

Akechi helped him out of the bath. They both toweled him down, with one resolute not to gawk at the other. Akira had his hands over his eyes even in the dim light. Akechi felt at once he was still warm even as he shivered as if he were coming out of cryogenic stasis. That should have helped, he thought, distracted.

When Akira was finally planted into his bed, Akechi relaxed. He could see the boy still struggling to keep his eyes open. He leaned over him, attempted to make his voice softer. "I'll make you more soup. Maybe just toast instead of a full sandwich, too. Get some rest."

He closed half of the curtains. The window he opened was already shut by the time he put Akira into the bath. He even threw out the rest of the ice bags. The whole room took on a quiet and frozen atmosphere. It was exempt from the sun outside, it was barely making out the sounds of nature. It was, hopefully, restful. He took one last peek at him before he closed the door. Back to the kitchen, back to the quiet empty cafeteria... maybe one of the lunchladies there to keep him company.  
  
  
Soup. Pills. Water. If Akechi was being entirely honest, being a counsellor didn't teach much about how to treat illnesses. How to survive off leaves, how to bandage wounds and fortify arm slings; of course. How to identify plants from poison; no doubt. First aid was a must. First aid also had nothing to do with common colds and sicknesses.

So, Akechi was lying. He wasn't any better qualified. He was fibbing and it was entirely likely any one of them knew how to treat Akira from online sources or simple google searches... like Akechi was doing right now. His phone plugged in to an outlet at the far wall, soup scalding in it's bowl. He looked up from WebMD to see Akira still resting, still in his fitful sleep.

He twitched sometimes. He mumbled soft little platitudes. The sight of him unnerved in his sleep reminded him of something. It made Akechi unnerved to go through the cabin's items a second time around. It gave him second doubts as to whether he should try to open the other boy's phone again.

It was early that morning that he attempted anything. He had hovered over the boys phone. A black sleek case that hid nothing. A swipe would reveal it had a passcode, simple numbers. He couldn't trust Akira to have the generic four digits. He could trust him to have weaknesses, but couldn't count on them weighing him down.

Per instance, Futaba's birthday. (He tried it month/day, month/year, vice versa and versa vice.)

Per instance, his love of crude humour. (6969 yielded nothing, neither did 69666, 42069, etc, etc and all it accomplished was making Akechi feel foolish typing them in.)

Per instance, the complicated  _mess_  that was their relationship. (He thought about what Akira knew about him, hesitated to type in his birthday- that turned up empty. Though whether a comfort he hadn't been looked into or a curse as he was still locked in...)

It was something personal. Something Akechi wasn't privy to. He got up from his seat to look for Akira's phone again. Of course. It was right next to the boy. Maybe one more try... He reached for it, hands close to closing around the object, then abruptly they filled with the fabric of a sheet. He looked up. Akira had stirred, shifting to cover the phone underneath him. And Akechi grabbed his arm unknowingly.

He watched, thoroughly unsettled when Akira moved even more. Did he even want to risk it... He removed his hand, quietly gave Akira a pat to the head and headed back to his spot next to the outlet. He would wake Akira in half an hour to eat.

 

Akira was sipping through half of his soup when Akechi interrupted him, loudly asking from where he sat beside him. "How do you feel?"

He paused with the faint rundown of soup slipping past the corner of the mouth. He swiped at it with his hand. His eyes seemed more alert but Akechi thought he might have been hiding his true symptoms. "Pretty good. Still sick," he gestured obviously toward the novelties of illness. "Well enough to do shit."

"No nausea?"

"Not unless I push myself too far."

Goro leaned closer toward him, hair almost having to be brushed out of the other boy's face. "Does answering your phone count?"

Akira twisted his head to do the same, their foreheads touching. He thought distantly that his skin was uncomfortable to be against when he saw how Goro closed his eyes against the feeling. He went on, "What do you mean?"

"Your phone hasn't stopped ringing. I was waiting..." he inclined his head behind Akira, "for you to notice."

Akira turned back toward the head of his bed. It was true. His phone's small ring was just barely making noise. Huh. "Oh," he said aloud, before he complied with common courtesy to take the call. "Hello?"

"Should I leave?" Akechi whispered. Akira thought it through before shaking his head.

He was expecting Futaba. He hypothesized missing a few texts in his sleep and paying for it with her voice shouting from the other end after getting fed up with being ignored. Sojiro's quiet, calm tone reached him instead. "Hey kid, you alone?"

He thought about the very real weight by his side. "Just about."

A sigh. "Good enough. This won't be long. Texts leave too much evidence. I'm at a payphone, if you must know." He hadn't asked, but he was curious. Sojiro knew him too well. "Did Futaba tell you I was gonna call?"

His addled brain caught up to the present. "Oh, yeah. She did."

Bossman's breathing echoed relief. Out of the corner of his eye he noted Akechi trying to feign disinterest, whether out of politeness or otherwise. Sojiro's voice continued prattling on.

"Alright. The guys from last week have gotten bolder. Nothing I can say over the phone, except..." he could practically imagine his movements, the scratch of his skull, the resultant confused look. "What was that code you kids used? Just, be aware there may come a time when I need to pull you out of your little vacation... Stay vigilant. And try not to embarrass yourself over that crush."

Sojiro laughed at the resultant sputter Akira gave. Akechi watched with the water bottle in hand, "Do you need any? Are you having a coughing fit?"

He took the water, voice mild for once as he gave thanks. "It's too late for that," he replied into the receiver.

"Oh? Say hello to my new son-in-law," another laugh. Akira sighed dejected, face newly red as he quickly forced out a goodbye. "Okay-thanks-bye."

He looked up to find Akechi watching him mirthfully. "That looked like fun," he laughed, his hand now holding the soup Akira had rejected for the call.

 

 

It was nearing the end of class. Akechi had beaten Akira at most card games, sans goldfish. The sick boy hadn't seemed able to go back to sleep, which wasn't unreasonable when he thought about the naps of the past day. Quiet conversation filled in the blanks, but otherwise they let the silence speak for itself.

The room was overshadowed by the almost-blue filter that came over as soon as he'd closed the blinds. The only streaks of light came from the window near the front of the cabin. Things had gotten easier to point out in the dark, and even conversation seemed to flow with the added sense of security, or anonymity.

"I already promised I won't laugh," Akechi said, his head lay flush against the bed while he sat on the floor beside it. He had his cards peeking out just above the mattress.

"You know how I came from a small town?" Akechi nodded. Akira lay on his bed, legs folded together as he rested on his side. "In elementary, everybody knew me as the dirt eating kid."

"That's not so bad," Akechi replied, though his grin hinted at laughter waiting just below. "I remember collecting plastic bottles out of recycling bins and trying to build a house."

"Did you ever make one?"

"Oh, no... Mother remarried, and then we just never had the time. She was the one who would glue it all together."

"Got a five?" Akira asked, already gripping the edge of a card. "I wonder how my parents are doing."

"Your... original ones?" He ventured, thinking over what he read in his file while handing the card over. "Ten?"

He nodded, "I used to think my hometown was so boring; I'd ride my bike trying to find a travelling circus. Also, go fish."

"Sounds peaceful."

"In a dying way. Nine."

He was handed the card and a thermometer, looking up in time to see Akechi smile. "It's been a while since we checked. Tell me more about how you died inside."

"'Kay," The words came out muffled. "I think it's really easy for people to geft complacent."

Akechi laughed. "Sorry," he chided himself. "I can't seem to take you seriously with that."

Akira threw up his cards, laying on his back while he waited to be freed. His muffled speech rang true to all ears who heard it coherently. "Ams guefgs isnfls," he said, dramatically. "Ephlmenubh!"

He laughed harder, leaving his cards on the floor to jump onto the bed. "Yes, I also agree on our current economic and political state."

They waited in silence for the monotonous beep. Akira removed it at the indication, holding it up in the bare light. "Two degrees less than last time."

"Perfect," Akechi laid down in tandem to Akira. He felt almost lethargic now that the most strenuous parts had passed. "Hopefully it doesn't spike overnight..."

"You can always sleepover," Akira rolled onto his side to face him. "There's room on the bed for two."

"The paintings laid over there-" Akechi twisted to face them from Akira's bed, not so adeptly changing topic. "Kitagawa-kun certainly has an eye for detail."

"Akechi."

"Sakura?"

A hand snaked out of the world behind Goro's vision, running itself through his hair. His breath comes out stuttered.

"Akechi."

"I'm here."

"You know."

"Do I?"

"Akechi." The voice sounded frustrated, only further edged forward by it's own sneeze. "Goro."

That hand wrapped itself against his shoulder. He let it stay for now, eyes drawn to the dark detail in the art across the room. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually quite unknowledgable in a lot of things."

It crawled down his arm, along with a shuffling of sheets behind him.

"Modern art? I hardly wrap my head around it. The actions leading up to the Warring States period confuses me endlessly... Ah, those love quizzes girls do in magazines?"

"What about them?"

"They-" Akira's hand took Akechi's in his hold. It felt wrong, knowing they did it out of the sun's reach; almost hidden. It felt wrong knowing Akechi wouldn't be the only one to remember. He shook loose out of the other's grip. "I can never understand the  _obsessions over crushes_ -"

"Do you want a confession?" he spoke from behind. It felt as if his words were running down Goro's spine.

He knew he would regret asking, yet the whole day he had tried to approach it and softly coax it and each time they were interrupted. And now that it was here, so blatantly clear; he was afraid?

He turned toward him. They laid facing eachother, afternoon spent and gone. "Spell it out for me."

"There are so many different words to choose from," he mused, looking unbothered through his facade. Even his red flush was dampened under how calm he appeared. "What do you like best? Sonnets; Limerick; Scripture?"

He felt heat on his face at being ridiculed, "The truth-"

"You liked Yusuke's work, so maybe Haiku?"

He needed to scoff, looking at the ends of his hair instead of anywhere else. "As if any romantic attempt he made would get very far.  _Not_  to say-"

Akira's face burrowed closer, "So you admit this is romantic?"

"I'll... admit to taking whatever you say at face value." He looked up. "Please... Just..."  _Confirm my worst fears._

"I like you."

Akechi breathed a nervous laugh, "A whole day of worry for that?"

Akira closed the distance, running his words over Akechi's lips. "Let me steal your heart."

Akechi's voice is a breathless whisper, rushing to speak before his words are lost under the kiss. He tilts his head back, "Letting you defeats the purpose of stealing it."

He carried on as if he hadn't been denied. "I think about you an obscene amount. How you've been smiling at me." He kept talking. "The way you look when you think nobody's watching."

He gave a shuttering breath, eyes fluttering as their noses bumped. "Let me guess? You're watching?"

He nods, reaching between them to grasp both hands. "If you tell me you don't like me back-"

They both know he would be lying to himself. Distantly, Akechi's phone vibrated in his side. He was intent to ignore it, but it never subsided. The only time he ever got messages... he sat up, disrupting Akira to read over the notice, one hand still in his grip.

 **K** : Call.  
**K** : We need to talk.  
**K** : Your schedule says class has ended ten minutes ago. Call your father now.

He looked back at Akira. "I have to make a phonecall. It seems like your friends should be arriving soon. Enjoy putting on your brave face as I'll put on mine."  
  
The call was tedious backtracking and loopholes he had to jump through to uphold his father's legacy  _(his_  supposed legacy, in turn.) When he arrived, it was to see Akira's wild pack already clustered around him; filling in the space he took up. Animatedly mentioning living together in the wild, none so much as glanced his way when he began packing up.

"Akechi?" Well, of course there was one.

"Hm?" He looked back into Akira's endless eyes. "I think your health is to the point where I don't have to oversee you."

He looked like he wanted to continue the conversation, but he was ironically trapped by the gaze of his friends. "We're still meeting up tomorrow, right?"

Cold dread clambered back into him with the same intensity of the burning pit he felt replace his stomach. He smiled. "Of course."

  
  
Akechi slumped into bed, feeling as if he was dry ice being dipped in water. Steam lines coursing out of him as he lay in his cold, cold bed dereft of any contact but his own. His body hot against his insides and his surroundings, not by way of catching Akira's illness.

Was it possible to catch crushes? Like cooties, would they stick? Goro didn't know. He felt in some way Akira should be held accountable, at least for-

He shot out of bed, making strides across the room to pace animatedly. "I learned nothing!"

Well... his face flushed anew. Not  _nothing,_  he conceded. The wrong something, he forced himself to admit, the complicating something he was trying to avoid while carefully manipulating it. He was a fool. His face red, he sat onto the nearest bed. Face held in his hands, he wondered.

 _What response do I give him?_  
It was no question he liked him back.  
It was entirely a question of how much he would allow himself to get away with.

Goro took the nearest pillow, smothering himself and his frustrations. His arm was in the motion before he realized, hurling it forward to crash against the mirror.

He stood at the dull, unsatisfying crash. His eyes fell on his lone figure reflected off the surface. The mirror showing him in blue with the light of the moon outside. It was almost pitch dark, just enough shadow that he didn't feel the need to pose.

All the heat he felt was replaced by a chilling, dreadful pull of truth. He stepped closer to the mirror. He put a hand to it, tracing patterns as he saw half his face in the soft, barely there light. His eye found his.

"You are a murderer," He whispered.

"And tomorrow, you are going to make Akira Sakura tell you who he is, and then you're going to break his heart."

He knew half of that would be a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kabedon - that anime thing where people r pushed up against walls :P  
> 1980s chinese bootleg star wars - a very real comicbook  
> Ecce Homo is the jesus painting that church lady fucked up major  
> WebMD - sum site about health  
> There was also going to be a scene where Akira asked Akechi to feed him his soup (but ha ha... boy... B O I)


	10. Day 10: Group Therapy/Practice Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied this is almost the same length and the exact same amnt of time spent on it LOL OK  
> For so much that happens in this it felt like filler as i wrote it..... enjoi

It seems like a cruel twist of fate that people in charge never have time to themselves. They're always having to plan and set up for events long before they're scheduled to actually be there. Teachers, organizers, mothers who are overworked. Camp counsellors were no exception. So it made sense that Goro Akechi would be up at five am, staring at his ceiling in a way he hadn't done since his first few weeks living with his... He shudders awake.

Their trip today is the last thing he's thinking about.

* * *

Makoto Niijima laid in her sheets, staring at the bed adjacent where her girlfriend was looking back at her. Their time alone was spread thin, shuffled in between work and in the hours everybody slept. They made the most out of the day before anyone else. Shiho's quiet snores filled the other side of the room. The cozy warmth of their beds was rivalled in comparison to the heat exchanged from each of their hands, peeking out from beyond their bedframes to meet in the middle. A promise, shared through smiles and whispers and every look just as they woke up.

The time they would get alone together was the only thing she could think about.

Haru Okumura looked back at her with knowing eyes and a wandering hand. She rose out of bed with her sheets clung to her nape like a cape, shielding them from anyone's growing gaze when she enveloped them both in her blanket. These moments comforted by the unyielding grip still soft against her skin. These small tastes of freedom that rose out of Makoto's lips (freedom which tastes like lip balm, smells like lilac shampoo, and feels featherlight touched against her naval, slowly winding further-) were treasures she would scarce get again after her marriage.

The time they would get today, tomorrow, and the week onward are the only things she'll let herself think about.

* * *

Shiho Suzui is always, steadily working toward getting out of her comfort zone. Once, that meant approaching other campers and slowly opening up toward her long time friend Ann. It meant hanging out with Mishima and Ryuji both, and being candid about what they all faced together. Things like giving friends pep talks in the middle of three-way calls became second nature. Improving herself, and then when that turned into improving others; applying to be a camp counsellor.

She thought she finally understood what it meant to be healthy after being... ill for so long. Joking around, but being serious when you had to. Always giving leeway, always being kind, always confronting others and giving them advice  _you_  think they need.

She was wrong, though. She noticed now, in her position of authority, that sometimes the only thing you can do for people (for their problems) is ignore them, or they'll never open up on their own. Just because it had taken Ann's incessant badgering to make her open up hardly meant Shiho could do the same to any camper; or even to her other counsellors, who seemed to close up like touch-me-nots whenever she got too close to the problem tugging at their roots.

She was learning that being a good friend sometimes involved looking the other way. So on those quiet days she woke up to whispering giggles or her eyes opened on a kiss that wasn't meant for her, she tried to forget it. Or when she saw Akechi's eyes in the honest light of the fire, and he seemed haunted in a way she wouldn't be  _allowed_  to mend, she forgot it. And even now, when she would call Mishima and be told to drop the subject whenever his middle school life came up-

And in the quiet moments before bed, when it felt like she was alone in the room, she remembered feeling just like they do. Just like she did. And she feels that none of that growth mattered. She can feel it like a dark presence washing over her with every thought that her home is miles away (her brain refused to admit that Kamoshida was literally incapable of hurting her or anyone or even  _being here_ ) and she was realizing that even though she was better, she wasn't fixed. And should she be allowed to try helping while not knowing if she would ever be fixed?

This was a lot to think of before she even got out of bed. Shiho sighed, stretching as she normally did. Her phone pinged from messages she missed last night and the latest good morning text from Ann  _and_  Futaba, who had started getting in on their morning routine. Shiho grabbed it to send her own reply, putting on her new shirt in the process. Her counsellor badge glared in the light of the sun. She made funny faces in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. And when she spit, she found herself with a new thought just as Futaba sent her another questionable emoji.

Well. Not new. It's something that nagged at the back of her mind, and it was only now that she really inspected it. 

 _When did I start associating improvement with being fixed? When did I label myself as broken?_  She faced herself in the mirror. It would be a good day. She would make it a good day.

* * *

  
Akira Sakura woke up with only the dullest ache in the side of his head, and that was mostly due to falling asleep at the right angle to watch Futaba pull out the dollhead to explain away even more of what he missed. His evening had been cut short by his friend's insistence for him to rest, but before that it had been a cacophony of poorly made sock puppets explaining forest safety, fairly-well done impressions (of counsellors and cryptids alike), and too good interrogation methods into how his own day was spent (never before had he been grilled by Oscar the Grouch)

His dream had been an odd mixture of all three of those things. He laid there helpless as ol' Loch Ness held sockpuppets of Akechi and himself, irritating in it's accurate display of his vulnerability; the creature's voice slowly growing increasingly like Ryuji's as his mock flirtation grew odder.

" _Oh Akechi~ Maybe you're the sick one after all.._."

" _Perhaps I need_  your _medicine_." The puppet stared straight at Akira, " _Perhaps your ass in my d_ ick _-_ Dude! Get your effin' ass up!"

Wait. He listened closer, realising absently that his eyes were still closed. That  _was_  Ryuji's voice, accompanied by what felt like a hand jostling his shoulder awake. His headache made a little more sense.

Fever dreams really were the worst. He did feel better than any of the past days before. A quick sniffle confirms he's still, well, sick. It was the kind of sick you could get through if you  _had_  to. The kind where Akira could steadily stand, and his hand wouldn't shake when he flipped off his immune system.

He was sure he was well enough for the trip; though he only had a second to think while Ryuji nudged him at his side. He opened his eyes the slightest inclination. Ryuji noticed. "So, you good? We're dying to know!"

Yusuke peered from near the foot of Akira's bed, his eyes squinting in contemplation, "At least  _he_  doesn't seem to be dying."

One of them left to sort their backpack, evident by the sound of rustling supplies even as Akira held his eyes shut again at their insistence gazes. Ryuji's voice filtered in, never leaving his side. A frustrated groan, "I'm expecting an answer."

"Yeah... I'm fine," he croaked. "What time is it?"

"Uh, seven thirty? We have to get our shit in order before breakfast 'cause it's getting cut early for- ugh- group therapy."

"Hopefully this one will be far more lacklustre."

"Right!? Who wants to talk anything out when we're gonna be camping!"

Akira surprised himself by laughing, the other two in the room merely happy he seemed well. "I never thought you'd be so..."

"Ecstatic?" Yusuke offered.

He shrugged in place, bed shifting underneath him. Ryuji moved out of view to lug his backpack onto Akira's bed, where it dipped into the mattress with a heavy thud. "It's some of the only freedom we get. Thought you guys would be  _more_  excited."

He turned around to grab a pile of shirts before dumping them onto Akira. The boy laid there for a few seconds before rising out of the pile and dragging a shirt that clung to his bedhead with static. He took one look at it and threw it at Ryuji, "This one. For sure."

 

SUPER-CALI-SWAGALISTIC-SEXY-HELLA-DOPENESS

Yusuke glared at Ryuji's shirt, squinting as if his eyes had been defiled. And, well, they had been. For the first time since coming to camp, he managed to lose his appetite. He pushed away his plate of food in protest. "Is this what they call a cursed image?" he shivered.

Ann snickered beside him, "It's 'fashion'. Sad, isn't it?"

"Extremely... Ryuji!" He pointed toward the other. Ryuji jumped out of his seat, looking around as if he missed something important ("What? What!?") Futaba shouted out beside him, "In the name of fashion, I will punish you!"

"...Not what I had in mind, but yes. Your outfit sickens me." Yusuke muttered as his stance deflated slightly; the same moment as Ryuji catapulted himself back into the cafeteria bench, tugging at his shirt with a scoff, "Is that all?"

Futaba shrugged, elbowing Ryuji as she continued to eat, "But seriously, do you buy your own clothes? Or do you tell the employees, 'Just eff me up, fam?'"

"Each one of these shirts is a national treasure, okay? Nic Cage will be on my ass any minute," he said in defense of his national treasures. Akira reached over Futaba to pat his shoulder in support and solidarity of dumpster fires in clothing form. "See, Akira gets it!"

Ann laughed, "More like he's enabling you."

"Aw, come on," Ryuji set his sights on Akira, "You like my shirt, right?"

Akira's face was neutral as he squeezed the other's shoulder, "You're perfect the way you are."

Ryuji ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, thanks? I know that, but what about...?" he picked at his shirt again.

Akira turned back to his food, "Don't ever change."

 

They came walking out of the cafeteria in droves, carrying knapsacks already filled with the essential for a night of hanging out. "An emergency change of clothes; some snacks; shit, I can't remember what they said yesterday..." Ryuji scratched his neck, "Hope they're handing things out soon!"

Haru was passing out lists. The supplies lay in boxes laid out on the benchtables outside. Rope, extra flashlights, tents, too much to name. Makoto's orderly voice directed kids into lines, grabbing items under Shiho's watchful eye.

Akechi (should he call him Goro...?) was checking off the camper's names as they walked by, muttering assurances as they went. "Hagarashi... Snoop...  _That_  guy," he looked up at Akira's group, hesitant to do much but check off all their names at once. As they passed, he quietly sighed out, "Good morning."

Akira nodded. He was unsure if he saw it. They had them gather in rows facing the forest, a far cry from the circles they sat in for the earlier group therapy. Even so, everyone chatted idly while they waited for the group to be enmasse. Haru and Shiho appeared near the back, counting through rows. Akechi and Makoto were at the front of them, doing the same.

"Okay," she muttered, looking at Akechi before her voice boomed. "We can do two groups of thirty or so kids. The first three rows stay here. The last three please follow the other counsellors," Makoto waited as people left in varying degrees of preparedness, hugging their rolled up tents close.

Akechi smiled beside her, "Couldn't exactly study for this," he says in place of a joke.

She smiled back, "I doubt this will be taxing. Truthfully, it's barely a therapy session," she gestured to the crowd beyond them. "I think the most anyone can do in this environment is chat."

"You're taking that... rather lax." he noted. His baffled smile carried over in his voice, "As student council president, I always assumed you were on a warpath regarding rules. So to speak." He coughed nervously, "Perhaps I misjudged you all these years?"

Makoto looked back at him with a shrug, her posture less polished and slouching lower by the minute. His confusion only furthered her enjoyment as her smile grew. "You didn't. I'm trying a new thing. One of our campers and I have been exchanging philosophies and she thinks I need to 'chill.'"

Goro wanted to laugh in her face, rattle her until her brain scrambled back to normal. Instead, his eyes moved with the motion of hers, watching Makoto and...who he believed to be Eiko wave at eachother. He faced the crowd as he spoke, words calm. He had liked Niijima, too. "Ah... So instead of rehabilitation, the camp is now about having fun? How pleasant."

Her eyes widen at being admonished by Akechi, who for all intents and purposes had been considerably kind to her lately. "Excuse you?" She bristled, careful not to raise her voice in front of the crowd that continued talking amongst themselves.

What was Goro doing? Was it:

  1. A projection of all his guilt onto an easy target
  2. A bit of fun at the idea Niijima seems to believe she could change herself overnight
  3. Baiting her into taking the activity seriously so he could hear Akira talk about his backstory



Trick question; it's all of the above.

"I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn." He smiled toward Eiko, "Continue with your chat. It's not as if the people sending these children here expect results. I just thought that as counsellors we shouldn't be allowed to let favouritism or any sort of bias cloud us from doing our utmost we can to help them."

She looked at the sea of people, "It wasn't my intention to stop helping," she stopped herself, staring at the clipboard at her side, "Although I suppose..."

"No, I was rude." His smile was fading, readily solemn for her confession.

"You  _were._  But you have a point. This way of life hasn't been helping me. Being chill doesn't give results... I have to fight."

Goro's smugness evaporates. Uh. He believes he knows exactly what Makoto is referring to and it isn't the therapy session. "Right. So. Class?"

She nodded, although he was still unsure where her head was. "Alright!" Her voice burst through the crowd, and tiny bubbles of conversation popped into silence under her unwavering stare.

"This is going to be short, but we should at least  _attempt_  some sort of normalcy," she raked her eyes across the crowd until each runaway voice was silent. "We can do as we did last time; names, reasons for being here, and so forth. This time, we can add on one thing we would like to change before camp is finished. Easy enough?"

"Very," Akechi agreed. He turned toward Niijima, giving her the reigns once more. "Who will start?"

She scanned the crowd before caving against the defiant eyes, "Last time I did this, it was me. I think it's only fair to start with us again, and give the campers an example of what we expect."

He grinned back, not making any indication he would speak first. Makoto faced the crowd, "It's possible many of you had different counsellors for the group therapy before. I'm Makoto Niijima. I'm student council president at Seigi High School. I... something I would like to change..."

There was a tense pause as she considered herself carefully. Eiko's face in the crowd watching her, Akechi's glimmer of focus that seemed moreso like she'd caught the attention of a shark; Haru, who was too far for her to see.

"My faults?" She inadvertently looked in Futaba's direction before pulling her thoughts away along with her gaze. "I'm a bit of a push-over.

"People think that I'm weak, or easily controlled."  _And why wouldn't they?_   _I don't give them much reason to doubt._  She looked down, clenching her fists in her skirt. "I'm here because my sister asked me to go; I'm at my current school because it was the one my father went to as well."

 _Not anymore_. She was silent for some time, smiling to herself as if she was the only one in on a joke. "Anyway, I like to think I'm already on course to changing that. Any questions? Or is it your turn, Akechi-kun?"

Goro looked up from his thoughts to address the crowd, "Goro Akechi. I also go to Seigi," he added offhandedly, "You want to know my, _ah_..." he mentally went through the illegal to legal ratio. He peeked toward Akira. "I distance myself whenever the unexpected happens. I... try to dictate to logic more than emotion. Some may see these as things to change. I'm rather on the fence about them myself."

"You don't..." She cut herself short at the audience. Picking a person at random, "Kaito, let's start introductions with you."

* * *

 The whole crowd had devolved into a blob, each line of people indiscriminate from the next. No matter, they were almost done and Goro would finally hear what he wished to.

"Akira Sakura," he shrugged. "Here on an assault," his eyes shifting through the crowd like serpents, "Among a few others undisclosed. By the end of camp, I want to have a full summer romance."

People cackled, some hollered in mockingly sweet coos. At the corner of the crowd, Akechi felt minutely warmer despite the weather being cool.  _What did I expect_ , he thought, resigned.

Makoto raises an eyebrow, addressing the boy below instead. "I see," she smiled and humoured the situation. "How's that going?"

"I wonder," his hand on his chin, the perfect imitation of a gesture she saw regularly on her fellow counsellor.

Makoto raised the other eyebrow. "Thank you... Sakura."

People hadn't forgotten Ryuji. Once he gave the watered down version of events, kids began shouting out wilder rumours, facts, and anything they could make up as he scowled at the attention. "Yeah, yeah," he waved it off. "I went through enough of this."

Ann seemed to spike danger signals to those around her, the crowd giving her a wide berth as she described her faults as not being bloodthirsty enough to take vengeance when it was open to her. Futaba was less shy than last time, something that hadn't gone unnoticed. She seemed much more sure of herself, at least.

It gave Makoto the chance she had been looking for. When the crowd began to disperse, she watched in trepidation for the long mane of orange. Luckily, she had stopped to pick up her bag, and Makoto had gotten three quarters there by the time Futaba lifted the bloated backpack over her. It seemed to swallow her up.  
Makoto watched the backpack rise and start waddling away, the entire frame of it hiding the girl from view. She cleared her throat, voice clear. "Futaba Sakura!" There was no going back.

The girl halted as if caught under the gaze of a T-rex, attempting to stand as still as stone and maybe fool Makoto into thinking she had already killed her with her gaze. Evidently, it hadn't worked. A voice spoke out behind her, much closer than before. "Sakura-chan, I just wanted to tell you to... have fun."

Futaba looked up at the other girl, hopeful and confused. "T-thanks?"

"Your interesting  _tactic_  has put an odd powerplay over us. I also wanted to remind you that if you break the rules I won't hesitate to notify the officer in charge of your case."

"Oh. Fair," she shrugged, still uncomfortable. "You're not mad?"

The voice was strained. "I am. Though I have no intention of alerting authorities," She turned to the girl with competition in her eyes, "But I will figure out what you've done, and I will put us on equal footing."

Futaba gaped at Makoto's back as the older girl walked away, stuttering a shout at last: "I-I'd like to see you try!!"

Makoto smiled to herself before commanding the campers into groups for the hike toward the campsite.

* * *

The hike was growing to be longer than breakfast and the morning activity combined, a long reminder of why those two activities were cut short. Hopefully, by the time they'd arrive they would still be in time for lunch. As it was, most groups had exhausted almost all topics of conversation.  _Almost,_  as shown by Ann resorting to seeking out relationship advice, "It'd be nice to date, yeah, but everytime I try to they just freak!"

Ryuji sighed as if he heard this a million times before. "You did  _rob_  people," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah,  _that_  would be understandable! But all they can ever focus on is the way I  _do it_. They know that it's always pedophiles, but somehow I'm the weird one?"

Shiho popped her head out from behind them, "That's horrible! Why can't people understand- Oh, Akira, help me?" Her eyes shot ahead of their path, where a fallen branch had cluttered the way forward. It's appendages were sticking out at all angles, impossible to walk over. They lifted the branch out of the way, each person taking one end.

Akechi jogged toward them, watching the scene as he caught up. "Suzui, I was only a few groups away. Please remember to rely on your other counsellors."

"Oh." Suzui looked between the two, "You're right. Akira, you were recently sick, too!"

He shrugged, "I can handle it."

Akechi looked as if a nerve had been struck, "You can't and you know you can't."

While he was walking away, Shiho leaned closer to whisper, "You really got him to open up to you, huh?"

They grabbed their respective bags together, walking quickly to go back to their group. He smiled, "I have no idea what you mean."

Shiho smiled back, "Well, obligatory 'You can't date counsellors' here, and 'I hope you use protection' there."  
  
They walked by a spotting of trees, familiar to only one pair of eyes. "Oh, wait!" Shiho pointed out a tree riddled in initials, "That's the tree my group used last year to sort of leave our mark on this place."

"Should we do it, too?" Ryuji wandered closer with a pocket knife already in hand.

"Yeah, but on a different tree." She smiled to herself, tracing over names and little symbols. "I think it was mentioned to be tradition. There's probably tons of trees like this out here... Actually, there's a lot of history in this place that you haven't heard about because all the old counsellors are all.. Well," she shrugged before speaking to the rest of the campers, "Take a short break if you need!"

The other counsellors groups quickly agreed, and then Shiho was gone to explain the tradition, and laughing at something Haru said that was lost in the sound of people swapping knives or pencils or lipstick ("Aw, come on! It's all used up anyway, let me borrow it!")

They picked the tree closest to Shiho's. "R.S" and "A.S" were both quickly carved into a tree, Akira passing the knife along to his sister. "I'm still getting used to writing my name like that," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck as his friends surround him.

"Oh, that's right... What was your name before?" Ann asked, watching the alien Futaba was carefully indenting.

Akira's name was on his lips when he stunted his answer. He saw Akechi watching him from the back of a crowd. Noticed how he tensed, already walking absent-mindedly closer by approaching another group. How his ear preened toward them, his back suddenly at attention and his eyes no longer paying attention to the scene in front of him. He really did like the boy, but he wasn't blind to his motives.

He smirked, head lowered as he mocked a thinker's pose, "I wonder what it was..."

Ryuji was near exhausted with his stunts, "Ahhh, really?!"

"Why would I tell you so easily? Better yet, maybe I really did forget." He leaned in closer to them, "The way the human mind works is pretty mysterious, you know."

"I've never seen you deflect in such a way, Akira." said Yusuke, staring intently at his face. "Is your name truly so important?"

He waved his hand playfully, "It's just fun seeing everyone so interested. Oh, Futaba's done." He faced the tree fully, leaving his back open. Ann began to make a clean A. "Did you know certain name are more trustworthy to others?  _Faces,_  too. It's surprisingly those kinds of faces that are found scamming people... Oh, hey Akechi. Don't you find that  _fascinating?"_

He looked behind himself. Akechi was just beyond the group's scope. He nodded slightly, his face tinging red at getting caught. His hand gripped his strap in a forceful tug. His palm would have grooves when he unfurled them, nail sized indents stinging as a reminder. "...That was insightful."

"Did you come here because you wanted to have that talk?"

 _In front of everyone_? He glowered in response, "Of course not. I wanted to remind you not to strain yourself to impress your friends. It seems as though you need  _someone_  to tell you."

He nodded back, "Thanks."

Akechi left so quickly he didn't get to witness Akira carving P.T at the base of the tree.

 

The next big issue of camping is actually finding a place to camp. They had passed the lake, one cliff, and at least a small family of ducks on their way to the campsite. And now it appeared as if everyone else had gotten there first.  
  
Clearings were taken up, and then the space bleeding into those spots were just as easily gone. There was quickly a lack of space for them to just lie down and rest, with other campers rushing to tell them to get out of their territory. It seemed some of them weren't so happy to lose their money. A few had offered to let only Ryuji stay, and that had gotten a snappy reply from both Ann and Ryuji ("Sorry, we're a team!" "Yeah, call me back when you've got room for some common sense!!")

Finally they reached the first clearing without any other campers in sight. It was a small space big enough for a tent and a few other things. A small plot of grass a few metres off would be good for a firepit, and there was an already existing circle of dirt where a fire had been cleaned up along with a log carried over to act as a bench. Someone had used this spot before. And with the whole thing not overly covered in fallen branches or nests or the droppings of mysterious large animals, it seemed perfect.

"Woo!" Ryuji exclaimed, sitting down instantly. All the others got into their own spaces, with Akira lying on his back and Futaba starting to rummage through her stuff for snacks. "This is a good spot, right?"

"We can get Inari to check," Futaba chirped out from her backpack, only her legs sticking out as she fumbled inside. "He knows the forest the most out of all of us from his nature walks!"

"You're right!" Ann agreed before addressing Yusuke, "Do you think this is a good spot?"

Yusuke picked up the bag he had put down a moment ago. His face was filled with a disdain he had been attempting to hide, "...Truthfully, no."

The group jumped up from their spots, Ryuji dusting off whatever remained on his shorts from sitting down, "What? Is it poison ivy? Some weird leg tick? You see too many ants?"

"You found a hornet's nests? It's secretly locust season?"

"The fox demons are trying to call you back home?"

Akira was the only one still lying down, waiting for Yusuke to drop the other ball. He didn't think it was anything they were thinking-

"It's tasteless," he spurned, poison in his voice. Yeah, Akira smiled to himself. That. Yusuke continued, unaware of the way everyone else was immediately relieved. "Beauty is in nature, yes, but the composition of this clearing is all wrong. The amount of trees on one side weighs down on the senses, there's almost no balance! The colours-"

"Oh, gee golly fuck, Inari!!" Futaba waved her legs wildly from inside her backpack, "We're talking about if it's safe!"

"Biologically, yes. But my aesthetic sense is dying a slow born optical disease."

They put their bags down, Ann sitting against hers and a nearby tree. "Good enough for me."

Yusuke huffed, "Very well. We should get started on protecting our supplies."

Ryuji groaned, "Later, later! We just got here. I wanna sleep!"

Futaba's muffled agreement hit the same moment her bag toppled over. She hit the ground with a whap, hesitantly crawling out with a grimace. "Why did I do that..."

As she backed away, her hands were wrapped around a canvas that slid out of the bag easier than she did. "Unfair..." she grumbled, "Anyway, I'm not tired."

"Likewise," Yusuke smiled, "Is that..."

"Yeah, it's the shit you told me to shove in here," she threw the canvas toward him like a frisbee, "Don't say I never did anything for you!"

He gasped, running a few steps to capture the wrapped fabric before it could hit dirt. "You're a saint," he deadpanned, the canvas held under his arm as he carefully dragged out his easel, unfolding it from it's compact state. Ryuji had dropped all pretense, snoring on top of his backpack in the shade of a tree.

Akira and Ann, meanwhile, had their lazy eyes roaming Yusuke's actions. "Really, drawing even here?" Ann called out from her spot against the tree, "I'm almost impressed."

Akira agreed, moving from his back to his side, "Need a model?"

Ann had a lopsided grin, "I didn't want to say anything, but you've got a twig in your hair."

Akira, bemused, removed the lone stick. He stared at it before throwing it toward Ann who slapped it away laughing. The lazy afternoon seemed to be a hit; the sun above bleak and imperial where it hung directly above them; the distant clutter of other campers seemed to cease in their meadow.

For a bit of time, at least. Ryuji's stomach growls, and a second later the boy is looking around in bewilderment, "Wha- What was that?"

"I don't know," Ann replied with a clueless expression, "What did it sound like?"

"Something angry," he whispered. "Maybe this wasn't a good spot. What if we're right next to a pack of hungry raccoons."

She rolled her eyes, "Dumbass- raccoons are in the city. If anything, what you heard might've been  _wolves_  or even  _worse."_

"Worse? Like you when you wake up?" He laughed, blocking her rolled up magazine, "Okay! Yield!"

Ann stared at his earnest expression, almost wanting to admit it was his own stomach. "Forget animals- aren't you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah... Futaba?" He looked hopeful at the girl lying against her giant bag. The tent supplies had been squashed along next to her, and the whole tarp was on the ground underneath her snacks.

"I got you," she said, tired. Throwing him a bag of pretzels, she yawned, "Hope you don't mind I repurposed the tent."

He shrugged. "It'll work. Where's the others?"

* * *

What.  
Goro Akechi had been walking the length of space permitted for the campground; going through campsite to campsite and marking down the preparedness of each group; currently, he was unsure if the most noteworthy were the ones who had gotten everything done first, or the ones who seemed to forget they had to do their work at all. The countless amount of people who thought it was fine to just do as they wished...

 _This_  was new, though. He... didn't know if he really wanted to interact. He wasn't sure he would even be able to keep himself together, his thoughts undeniable.

He had found himself at the outskirts of a clearing, a small and less disturbed route that had grabbed his attention through all the ways light seemed to filter onto the ground from the trees above. Angular blocks of light that carried over to an open, spacious plot where blue flowers reached the edge of one side.

He was close to bending down to pick a flower. Just as his hand hit sunlight he pulled it back, breath caught as he shoved himself into the shadows. Jesus. Christ.

On the other end of the meadow was a bedding of weeds. Wildflowers scattered against it in cold hues and laying atop it all was (because of course it was) Akira Sakura. He laid on his back, grey eyes focussed on the sky despite the blinding intensity of the sun warming him. He had one lone cobalt flower in his grip, holding it up against the air. He was wrapped in nothing but... a white bedsheet? A branch the length of his body laid alongside him. And above him was that artist, Kitagawa; his paints scattered in the ground below; his canvas portraying the sight below him.

Even in the bleak distance, Goro could make out the harsh red that ran across Akira's mouth. Takamaki's lipstick, or... his eyes landed on the bottles. Paint?

Well, he  _had_  praised Kitagawa's work. Taking one last look (absently promising to himself that he might inquire as to his prices), he backed the way he came, not fully prepared to deal with  _that._  His breath returned to him in sighs of relief when he came across their real camp.

If it could be called that. Their gear was left scattered, and the three others of their gang simply moseying around discussing the weather for all it seemed. Their tent was acting like a mat for their food and... Akechi felt his eye twitch. He approached without caution, voice tense. "So, this is what we should expect from you next week?"

He watched in satisfaction as their posture tensed immediately. He watched Sakamoto jump, and then attempt to act as if he hadn't just done so. "Ahhh, come on, man." he pleads, trying to keep it cool in the hopes Akechi wouldn't drag them through the mud. "It's just a little break, you know?"

"Plus, our group members are busy right now! We can't do all this by ourselves," Ann pouted in his general direction.

How easy did she think he was? He thought back to the scene he had found their 'group members' in and blushed regardless, "Nonetheless, I suggest you find them and set up immediately. It's been a couple hours since we've arrived. Daylight is fleeting, you know."

He made no effort to leave without affirmation. A mild staring contest occured before Ryuji nodded his way, "Okay, got it."

He nodded back, leaving the opposite way he came.

Ryuji got up with a stretch, "Should we do it now?"

Ann shrugged, "You and I can do the tent easy. Plus, we can hold it over their head later that we did all the work."

"True!" Ryuji helped Ann up, "Futaba?"

She waded in her junkfood ocean of unhealth, "I'm pretty fine where I am now," she began to doggy paddle into the trash sea, her voice increasingly muffled under the rising tide. "Good luck, though."

The two blonds watched her disappear into the void. "Futaba?" Ryuji asked, nudging at the pile. "Should we...?"

Ann shook her head sadly, "She's already assimilated."

 

Akira and Yusuke quietly walked into camp, sheet bundled under Akira's arm. "You guys are back late!" Ann noticed, shoving the last of her items into the tent, unknowingly awakening Futaba with a backpack to the face.

Akira was silently wiping away at his mouth; allowing for Yusuke to answer, "There was a bit of time devoted toward set design, make-up and props. It was a success, I think."

Akira nodded, "Not bad for my first time."

"Oh?" Ann smiled, pointing at the canvas Yusuke held in his hand, "Maybe I have competition!"

She ran to peek at his artwork, holding back a gasp, "Hey, if this is what you wanted I could've- I mean, it's really beautiful!"

"Thank you," Yusuke smiled, "Now where to let it dry..."

"In hell!" Futaba yelled, unveiling a watergun from inside the tent. Yusuke had hellfire in his eyes, about to shout when she laughed, "Okay! I'm kidding! Please don't troll me online!" she snorted.

Yusuke settled minutely, eyeing her warily. Troll her online? Was that another meme he didn't get? "Still. Why you would bring such a dangerous weapon astounds me."

"Uh, this exact reason, lobster boyardi." She walked over casually, "Do as I say if you want your beloved Akira to live."

He held the painting behind his back, glaring at full force once again, "You can't be serious!"

Physical Akira laid a hand careful against Yusuke's tense arm, voice monotone. "She would really do it. Save me, Yusuke. Save your sweet prince."

"Very well," Yusuke replied pointedly. "What should you have me do?"

"Subterfuge! We're infiltrating the other campers palaces to lay waste!"

They were seen running out of the clearing when Ryuji came back from taking a leak. "What? What did I miss now?"

* * *

Goro was the one to approach Akira. Not that Akira cared, or was counting, or felt rather nice about the fact as he attempted to start a fire. It seemed Futaba was too busy trying to hang on Yusuke's shoulders and scare kids; Ryuji and Ann had finished the tent before he even got back and had decided to check out a lake nearby; which left Akira squat next to a pile of dry twigs, log bench flush against his back.

The sky was barely darkening, yet it still felt late. Kids shrieked laughter in the distance. Akira's blood tensed and his heartbeat burst in exertion as he tried to make sparks catch flame from flint. Then he burst backward in surprise at a familiar hand on his shoulder. He jolted his head upward, looking upside-down at a boy with a slow-growing grin.

"You need help?" The image of radiance asked.

"Do I look like I do?"

Akechi let out a loose laugh, stepping over the log to sit in front of it and taking the flint out of Akira's hand, "Yes." He laid his duffel bag to the right of himself, staring at the flimsy fireless pit in growing confidence. "Forget your lighter?"

He brandished a red one from his pocket in lieu of answering, his shoulder brushed up against Akechi's own. "How did you know I have one?"

He tensed beside the boy, "A delinquent not carrying around something to seize the means of production?" A quiet, nervous chuckle, "It's simply more likely you do than don't."

Akira stared at his profile as the boy mussed around the kindle, "Well," he settled, watching as Akechi removed pine needles from the mix, "I thought I would do it the wilderness survival route."

"Hm," Akechi replied, twisting to face him and pluck the lighter out of his hand. He flicked it on, light giving his face a warmer glow around the edges. "Usually, the quickest way is best for beginners."

His gaze back on the stack of twigs, he did his best to will a flame into existence, waving the lighter through the tinder. Akira's voice wandered to his ear like smoke, rising to meet him through the forest air. To choke him. "Did you come to talk?"

"About... that?" He eloquently replied. He imagined a nod in response, "Of course. This seems to be the one chance I could get alone with you."

"And?"

He saw embers catching, dancing in the low light of the near miniscule fire growing below the twigs. "We should wait until the fire is grown up to talk about such matters in front of it, ha..." he could feel himself sweat under the weight of his own awful off-colour joke.

They waited in silence, Akira's rustling behind him the only close sound, still succeeding to make Akechi's hair stand on end. Loud voices grew catatonic in the background, mere echoes of their volume as they were thankfully far away enough to ignore.

The fire steadfast approached completion, offering warmth despite it's slow, almost lazy flame. He lifted himself onto the log Akira was busying himself on, placing the lighter in the other boy's palm. "Okay," he sighed, "We..."

"Talk?"

He nodded in response, turning to fumble through his bag for a drink. "So, well."

Akira ventured, "How are you feeling?"

"I spent most of yesterday looking over some brat while he prattled on about eating dirt. He seemed almost proud of it?" he grinned, thankful for something to latch onto. "And then he began eating it in front of me!"

Akira rolled his eyes, "And then... he put his foot in his mouth?"

"More or less. I'm a little tired, but that's what the coffee is for." He lifted his thermos as he talked, sipping the bitter instant mix before offering some to Akira.

He takes it, and immediately recoils. "It's cold?"

"And awful, and made around eight this morning, and it makes my taste buds want to cry- but it's coffee."

"Have you ever had good coffee?" Akira asked as he handed it back.

Akechi peeked at him over the rim of his cup as he took another swig, "It's a distant memory."

"My father owns a cafe, you know. His coffee's pretty great."

He hummed in agreement.

"Mine's... pretty good too. Maybe you could come by sometime."

"Does this cafe have a name?"

"L'eblanc."

"After the author," it wasn't a question, but Akira nodded nonetheless. "Are all the coffee types named after literary puns?"

He snorted, "It's not that kind of place."

"So, should I imagine a grumpy old man in architectural form?"

"Honestly, yeah," he shrugged.  "After camp is out, you should visit. It could be a..." Akechi watched, internally pleading. His insides burning in a way that could combat the fire. Echoing laughter loomed closer in the onslaught of senses.  _Don't say it, don't say it, don't-_  "...date."

He bowed his head, staring back at the fire. "Akira, while your feelings for me... are, ah, fine," he settled, feeling as a hand creeped into his grip. Grey eyes staring into him. His face felt red in the amber glow, he mumbled his answer into the crackling logs, "No, the word isn't  _fine._  It's-"

A scream burst from the world behind him. Akechi whipped his head around to stare at the campers who had gotten louder the closer they came. In the distance he saw people pushing eachother down clumsily. Bottles flashed in the evening light, reflections of glass that he recognized as alcohol immediately. A squeeze of his palm had him looking at Akira, finally.

"Akechi-"

"Can you believe them?" He scoffed, more thankful for the outburst than he would show. "I have to go confiscate those... We can continue this later."

"Why?"

"Because some of the people here are too impatient to wait a few days. Honestly," he shakes his head, rising with the slowly growing flame, "if you were desperate enough to smuggle in alcohol, why waste it  _now?"_

"You answered your own question." Akira smiled despite himself; looking over the boy as he swung his duffelbag back onto his person, "Desperation is all about succumbing to our desire... And if you're desperate enough to start something," he shrugged, "Eventually you'll come back to it despite yourself."

Akechi looked back at him with a stare that communicated he had his own quip in mind. It was only another loud yell that stopped him, dragging him toward the noise without another hesitancy.

He left Akira, fire roaring pleasantly as he fed it, piece by piece.

  
The tent was up, the fire warm, the snacks dutifully stuffed back into a bag and hung out to dry. All their supplies were meanwhile hiding in the tent, sans the scandalous painting Yusuke and Akira brought back into camp when they returned. That had it's own spot under the waterproof tarp, under a tree, hiding from all incidents that could accidentally occur.

A sleeping bag went to whoever won the next few rounds of speed, decided upon after long discussions about what game would be fair and, no, rock paper scissors wasn't good enough! Everyone else would have to settle for the blankets they hauled here.

Now, staring at the tent in question before the game began, a new worry crossed over their heads. It was soon apparent, with five bags and only enough space for a few people, they could all be utterly cramped, or...

"Can we even fit all five of us?"

"We were wondering that while setting up..."

"Maybe it should be whoever loses has to sleep outside..." they muttered agreements.

"Alright! This game just got all new stakes! How about it, five rounds of speed?"

They gathered around the fire to play, lying against and on the bench. The night sky was fastly approaching, chasing away daybreak for sunset. "On the count of three," Ryuji yelled.

"One!" Ann and Futaba exchanged glances across from eachother.

"Two!" Yusuke's hand tensed on his five open cards.

Akira lay slack, watching them languidly from his spot lying on the log. Ryuji smacked the card upside down. "Three!"  
  
  
Akira had his head hung in shame. Ryuji was throwing his stuff out of the tent with a solemn air. "Last in all five games! That's a bit..." Ann began. Futaba watched him curiously after that, noting he didn't seem any sad for all his act.

Yusuke simply cautioned Akira to keep his painting safe. "I urge you to sleep in four hour increments, in case somebody," he looked in Futaba's direction, "Has any ideas."

He nodded resolutely, "Of course, dear court painter."

"Now that that's figured out..." Ann waved her phone around, "Shiho says the counsellors are still swamped trying to help people out. Did you know people actually brought alcohol?"

"Huh, really?" Ryuji answered, going through his backpack, "Good thing I don't need any of that since I'm," he pulled out another shirt, HIGH OFF LIFE stared up at them noisily. Ryuji's grin was huge before Ann pushed him aside to get into the tent. She came out wielding a knife.

"Hey, Ann-" he backed away, clutching the shirt to his chest like an old maid clutched a rose. "That's dangerous, okay?"

"What? Oh," She made a sound of annoyance, "It's not for your ugly shirt! Some kid messed up his ropes and he's somewhere around  _here_  literally tied up. Like..." she peeked at her phone before pointing forward with her knife, "Right here."

The whole group walked toward the growing darkness, muted pinks still coating the sky. The ground was hidden in shadow. It was only the muffled sounds of a human voice that led them to look in the right direction. Then, it took a bit of rope falling slack in front of them to look up.

Futaba poked her head up, startled. "Kinbaku?!"

Akira patted her head. The dude wasn't drunk, he thought. Or high, despite the elevated altitude he was resting at. Actually...

"Aren't you that kid always around Shiho?" Akira looked to his right, where Ryuji had voiced his mirrored thoughts.

"M-maybe," was the quiet reply. "Why?"

"Well, not that there's anything wrong with that?" Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his head as if even he was unsure. Futaba was watching him with pointed eyes. "Just..."

The pink of the sky was molting purple, Ann huffed out a warning, "We don't have time."

Ryuji lowered him onto the earth, finding the rope that kept him up and slowly easing him down. He landed in Akira and Yusuke's arms regardless, with Futaba finding the main knot and Ann cutting him free.

"Thanks!" He replied, sweat mingled on his face with rough bits of rope, red signs of ropeburn left on parts of his exposed arms. "D-Did Shiho tell you about me?"

"Obviously," Futaba bited.

"Futaba!" Yusuke whisper-admonished before facing the boy. "Can you find your way back to your camp?"

He nodded, picking himself up and dusting himself off. "Really, thanks. If you ever need anything..." he let it trail off, rushing in the direction away from their camp, resembling a little of a lapdog.

They continued like that, Ann receiving careful directions and the rest of them following suit to save others; and a chance to explore the other camps. Some kids were actually pretty cool, hanging up long scarves in eccentric colours (except that it was a fire hazard) (and it did catch fire). Others tried to stay holed up in the trees of their campsite, attempting to live _entirely_ off the land (Ann just threatened them with the knife.) They even passed by Shiho, arms filled with confiscated cans of silly string and a message she shouted toward Akira ("Tell Akechi to just burn all the stuff from earlier!") The list went on until it was too dark to navigate.

"Are we done yet?" Futaba asked, leaning on Akira as they walked in the direction of their camp.

"Yeah, I think so," Ann replied, checking her messages one last time. "She says Akechi was going to help but she hasn't heard from him since."

"Hope we get some kind of extra credit for this," Ryuji grumbled, kicking a rock into their camp.

"Maybe they'll finally teach you how to dye your roots," Ann mentioned offhand before disappearing into the tent, "Night, Akira!"

"Wha..." he held his hair out, trying to see the top of his head. "Oh, god damn it, Ann... Later, dude!" Ryuji followed after her, yelling inside, "Come on, my roots are fine!"

Yusuke watched the tent warily, "This reminds me of an unsettling night I tried to work for a man and his cat-presumed-wife. They... Well, Goodnight." He nodded his assent and ducked into the fray.

Futaba stared at him, voices from the tent in the background. "You wanted to lose," she stated flatly.

He shrugged. "You wanted to win."

"I don't think I have a ginger demon waiting for me in my tent, though." Futaba was lying; she had at least three ginger demons in the mangas she had brought to camp for her 'light reading'. "Gah," she sighed, "Just be careful! Morgana's not here to warn me if something were to happen to you."

He nodded, watching her exit before picking up the search. Akira had his suspicions when he heard about Goro's sudden disappearance. Searching the area around his now-empty firepit, they were all confirmed in one stark moment. He stared at Goro, his torso held up by a tree, eyes shut and twitching painfully. First, he left the other boy to retrace his steps, returning with a blanket he laid around him and the sleeping bag that was rightfully his.

Then he squatted down next to him, noting that he still looked wrong, and wrapped half of his jacket around the other boy. Absently, he reached under himself for the blanket and put that over his legs as well, and he waited.

He stayed, sometimes on his phone with the light feeling glaringly bright and sometimes watching Goro appear from the dark as his eyes readjusted. He didn't know how long it took until one look back at Akechi had him realizing the other boy's eyes were open and staring back at him. His mouth quirked up instantaneously, "Hey?"

Akechi squinted at the boy, eyes feeling heavy with sleep. He leaned forward to speak. "Why are you-" his head dragged against the bark behind him. He jerked away from the contact and finally seemed to take in everything around him. He ignored the crink he felt growing in his neck. "Fuck. Camping."

"Yeah, that." He nodded, as he moved his arm between them to wipe away the leftover bark the tree deposited on the other boy's face. "You want to move to the firepit?"

Yes. No. Goro felt uncomfortably comfortable. The position would hurt tomorrow, and lying in the cold forest was just begging for disease. Yet, the warmth of Akira by his side- he didn't know if he could replicate it now that he was conscious, or if he would chicken out and retreat back to his own tent. He didn't comment on the hand that hadn't left his face. He stared instead, "Truthfully, I don't know."

He nodded, seemingly ready to take any of Akechi's answers. "Did you just fall asleep of exhaustion?"

His face flushed, thankfully in the shadow of the tree as he remembered. "Yes. Exactly that, now that I think of it. I was supposed to help Suzui carroll the campers," he disrupted the blanket to dig into his eyes with one hand.

"She won't mind," Akira offered, reassuringly. His hand dipped to clap against his shoulder in a way that had Alechi laughing. His actions went from so affectionate to almost brotherly in seconds. He reached over with his left arm, patting Akira in return, trying to showcase how odd the action was. Together they shoulder patted, Akechi giggling over the ludicrosity. "Akira."

"Hm?"

"Akira," he repeated. He let his arm fall between them, playing with the strings on the front of his hoodie. Words filled his head but his mouth still felt unused to the shape of them. "You're... already aware of the truth. Do you really require me to say it outloud...?"

"Can I be selfish and say yes?"

He glared halfheartedly, "Do you realise the situation we're in?"

Akira snorted. "You look betrayed."

"I've known you for a week and a half," Goro muttered.

"I've liked you since the first day."

"I need a bit of time," he shut his eyes. "Just..."

"That's not a no?" He smiled shyly.

"I wish I knew what to choose," a whisper, so close it was heard perfectly. His eyelids snap open and he burned his retinas into Akira's, "I wish I could see into all the paths open and  _know."_

"You're afraid," he whispered back, words ghosting the air around his lips. "I don't know why."

"I have pre-existing arrangements. Things you wouldn't be okay with. If you knew..."  _you wouldn't like me._  "Imagine if I asked you to tell me about your real criminal record."

He watched Akira tense underneath him, a small strain to his stance that would go unnoticed if they weren't so close. He pulled the hoodie string taut, voice smug in the satisfaction of proving his point. "You see?"

Akira moved forward of his own accord, the string growing lax in Goro's hold. He rested his head against the tree, "You're letting yourself be trapped by your mistakes?"

He sighed as if he held up the world, words grinding out. "You make it so simple."

"It seems simple."

"It's much more than idle threats; it's-" he breathed deeply, his nerves unsettled in his chest. His hand fisted around the string, curling it around his knuckles. "It's an entire system I'm so interwoven that escaping would be death. I'm not proud of it. I can't say I'm not good at it."

"You also make soup pretty well."

That brought a slow smile, despite the edge to his voice. "Do you realize where I'm going with this? Any sort of relationship we have would be overshadowed by my... arrangement."

"So even if you like me," Akira said, "Inviting you over to L'eblanc..."

"Once this summer ends, so does it's relinquished hold on me."

"We only have a week?" he muttered, phone dug out of his jacket to check the time. "A week, three days, and twenty one hours."

It felt cruel. A countdown to their relationship set in place before it started. "I know this may change your mind-" he began.

"It doesn't." Akira replied, quick as lightning to answer. He knew there was more under the surface. The deadline only fueled him further to find out what. Akechi looked ready to croak a denial. He repeats himself, hand reaching under the string to wrap their hands together. "It doesn't."

"Understood," he smiled through the melancholy of the moment, "Then, yes. I do like you... And I'll try my best to love you 'til the summer's end."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also id been meaning to establish tht goro & makoto knew eachother b4hand but i felt the extent of relationship i wanted them to have was unbelievable at this point (like 10 chapters in lol)  
> So they went to school together!! Also seigi means justice i think... i googled it! Tbh i think i remember another fic named a school that but i cant recall if thats just my brain wanting to believe that....
> 
> Alsoooo like i got twitter cuz i wanted more akechi in my life alright alright alright [Uhmmm](https://twitter.com/uhmuhmmmmmmm?s=09)


	11. Day 11: Practice Run/ Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 【＝◈︿◈＝】  
> I accidentally used Kurusu as akiras last name twice in the past two chapters!! I would juuust like to say those were typos and both times meant to be Sakura  
> And please purge it from your mind ! OTL OTL OTL  
> Names have relevancy for the plot.... haha...... okee? And i think i can say without spoiling that yes, akechi has no clue what his old last name is

Goro was the first one awake, rising with the sun behind him and the sound of a crow echoing in his eardrums. He squinted in the sudden light of day, his eyes barely adjusting in time to see the bird leave; black wings eclipsing his view as he realized how  _close_  it was and scooted away, backward, into the warmth of his sleeping bag. The bird flew away in a flurry of black feathers that distinctly reminded him of Akira's mop- wait a minute.

His sleeping bag that ached alongside him, with bones that stuck into his back and a deep groan that spoke of the hours spent in that position. The roots of a tree and it's trunk acted as subtle camouflage from the elements. That wasn't a sleeping bag. He looked down. Akira's sleeping face met his, pale bliss covered in dirt on one side, drool leaked down in one line down his cheek.

Goro snuck a hand out from it's place, shaking Akira. His glasses had been thrown off sometime in the night, landing just beyond his reach. He struggled to continue patiently, eventually hearing the sound of other campers nearby and kicking him in response.

"What?" Akira whispered, voice hoarse.

"What? Look at us," he gestured between them, hissing erratically. "It's morning, and people are here. Wake up." Goro continued to peer through the forest, fixing his hair as he sat up and continued to pat Akira's face as if that would make him move quicker.

"What, were we doing something wrong?" Akira grinned, rising in complicity to Goro's paps and stretching with all the care of a cat.

Goro gave a blank stare, one eyebrow bent out of shape as he backed up further, "How would you describe this scenario?"

Akira, finally fully awake, looked invigorated. " _I_  was attempting to leave and  _you_ , Goro Akechi, beacon of the law that you are, made it your job to apprehend me. Mid-struggle we both spontaneously fell asleep," he shrugged, "happens to the best of us."

Akechi almost looked insulted, "That's our cover story? No wonder you ended up here." He got up, dusting off his clothes without a second glance. "Well, I will be leaving."

"What about me?"

Goro rolled his eyes, finally turning to face the boy on the ground and his shit eating grin. A smile threatened to tug at his lips, "Next time you plan on breaking the rules, perhaps you should do it in your own room... or mine."

Goro turned back to the path he came down last night, belatedly checking his pockets for his phone, his lanyard for it's authentication, and his hair for any misgivings. Huh. He ran through his hair again, a large section of it springing back to life as soon as he pulled away. Bedhead, great. And his own camp would be... much too far to be unseen.

Well, he chuckled to himself, imagining Akira's own resultant crows nest, at least he wouldn't be the only one.

* * *

Akira Sakura surprised his campmates, exponentially. From being amazingly bad at card games, to having a thing for those who could eat him alive, he seemed to be the type to continually shock them. That made it especially odd when they awoke, early for them but late for camp, at seven in the morning to the smell of something cooking in the firepit a ways away. Slowly, after scratching eachother to death in the tiny tent (after foots in faces and a large amount of hair getting choked on), they emerged to something sweet in the air. Ryuji perked up at once, letting his nose lead him as he walked out of the tent. "Is that... meat?"

"It can't be," Yusuke muttered, following Ryuji with a crick in his back from being slouched inside the tent. "There are no wild boars."

"Maybe you're mis-steaking it," Ann laughed at her own joke, small  _hehs_  still leaving her lips as her hands flew to comb down her hair.

"I love you but I hate you." Futaba mumbled, bumping into Ann as payback for the pun. That only made Ann laugh louder, punctuated with a stumble as her tired eyes blew wide at the sight in front of her. "Hey, I wasn't wrong."

The early day fire made them realize, somewhere in the chills that racked their pajama strewn bodies, just how cold the morning could be. They gravitated toward the fire, disbelieving of what was in front of them. "Akira?"

He stood crouching by the fire, as a pan spit with oil just centimetres from flames. It rested on hot coals instead, still close enough to burn. On closer inspection, it was filled with some indiscernible meat, chunks of it cut into slices. The cans that lay below him spelt out 'spam' ("See," Ann declares proudly, "Not real meat!") And the other pot at his feet was filled with rice, the lid fogged over but it's contents identifiable. His backpack laid against the log, less bulky than it appeared at the beginning.

Futaba has to yell, stomping forward to grumble tiredly, "You actually brought this stuff, but I couldn't bring Morgana?!"

Akira rolled his eyes, small smile crinkling the corners as he flattened spam with his spatula, "So, Ryuji gets your helping after all?"

She rolled her eyes, wind blowing out of her with a sigh, "Need help?"

He nodded toward the fire, "It's getting too much."

Ryuji comes forward next, peering into the pan a bit too closely, savouring the sight of real (kinda) food and balancing his head against Akira's arm, "My hero!"

Ann is behind him, squatted next to the rice. "We had instant rice lying around?"

" _I_  had it in our... bag." Yusuke mutters from his spot by Akira's sleeping bag. He notices more than just that, "Akira, you took down our food supply?"

"I was hungry," he shrugged, disrupting Ryuji who falls gracefully with a sigh, laying atop the log bench with a look of bliss.

He rubs the tired from his eyes, "Am I still dreaming?"

Ann snickers to herself, eyebags making a reappearance as she landed next to Ryuji. "What? You can't beef-lieve it."

"You know, I haven't done shit to deserve this-"

"Akira," says Yusuke again, fully awake despite the prospect of food tempting him into ignorance. "Your glasses are here as well as your sleeping bag. I can't imagine why you spent the night here, against a tree."

"Oh..." Akira smiled to himself, focussing moreso than he should on the food in the pan, "It sort of just happened. Along with others."

"Others?" Futaba ventured from her opposite spot by the fire, looking at him through lopsided glasses as if she knew. Yusuke joined her, walking over with Akira's glasses in tow on his own head. "I'm interested in that as well."

"You guys think somethin's up?" Ryuji asked, eyes closed and voice already faint.

"Can't we wait," Ann yawned, "Until  _after_  he cooks all the food?"

"You guys can sleep," Akira nudged them with his foot, smile warm as a slowcooker, as if it never left his face. "Food isn't going anywhere."

"If you insist..."

"Are you guys really worried?" Akira finally turned around to ask, flipping over spam, "Because I'm really good right now."

 _"Really,"_  Futaba emphasized.

The Sakura siblings shared a look. "After the food's done," Akira stressed, rolling his eyes under the scrutiny. "I just woke up in a good mood."

"Due to something," Yusuke nodded, catching the silent conversation. "Very well, I won't pry. Instead," he began walking toward the edge of the clearing, "I should clean up the tent."

They watched him walk away. "... He still has my glasses."

  
  
"Akira!" Ryuji whined, paper plate licked clean, "How did you make spam taste so good??"

"Dirt," Akira replied, face blank and glasses on hand, "I sprinkled dirt and bird innard until I felt my duty was fulfilled. When all of you finish the meal, my contract will-"

"Okay, I shouldn't have asked." Ryuji smiled nonetheless, "I guess when all I was expecting was protein bars..."

"True," Futaba replied, her plate balanced on her head in the aftermath of the meal. "Speaking of expectations..."

"Oh yeah!" Ann pointed at Akira accusingly, "So what's up?"

He rolled his eyes, throwing his paper plate into the fire before he spoke. "Last night," Akira began, staring into his lenses as he cleaned them on his shirt. He leaned back past the log, nearly tipping himself backward into the ground. "Before I fell asleep..."

Ryuji pushed him back with a shout and a laugh, "Dude! You can tell us anything!"

Akira landed in a heap on the ground, his backpack cushioning the fall. He smiled up at his friends from their spots surrounding him. "I think we're..." he made the motion to wave with his hand, but all he accomplished was a floppy arm wave.

They continued their stares, different stages of confusion and apprehension painting their faces. Akira couldn't find the words; it wasn't that he was too shy to say them outloud; more like, the thought made him want to shout and Goro would've  _hated_  that. Worser still, he wasn't sure exactly what he would shout. Embarrassing love sonnets, maybe.

"We're?"

"You know," he shrugged in the direction away from camp, his head lolling against the grass. He continued as if it were obvious, a tacked on statement. "I think we're dating."

Ryuji's rushed voice shouts through, "I never agreed to that!"

A gasp, "You and Akechi!?"

He nodded, stretching his arms before using them to cover his face, "So... making breakfast just felt right, alright? Eat your fill and don't complain!"

Their voices were lost to him under Futaba's laugh, a huge burst of sound that came out of the pit of her stomach. She twisted around in her seat to face him, "When you said that, you looked just like Boss!"

Akira's face burnt, and he curled up further in on the floor, grabbing his hoodie from behind him to use as a makeshift blanket. "I'm going back to sleep..."

Somewhere above them, pixelated fireworks spelt out his accomplishments in a sunset-ombre haze.  
  
♡ Summer ! Romance !! ♡  
  
AKIRA SAKURA has achieved his G O A L!  
  
+7,151,815 LOVE In The Air!  
+111 CONFESSION!  
+53 HAPPINESS!  
+89 CHARM!  
POSSIBLE UNLOCKED (1) : SUSPICIOUS BACKSTORY

He would have to text Futaba the stats update, once he figured all of them out. He distantly noticed Ann taking a selfie to commemorate the moment and he felt the motions to do a peace sign wired into him. Ann looked at it after a moment, "You're blushing so bad right now!"

"Right," Akira replied, hiding his face behind one hand. "Cool. Thanks."

"Aw, come on," she chirped, helping Akira up by the one free hand, "This is a good day! We need more to celebrate than you doing something for us!"

He landed on his feet, looking at his friends be happy for him. He realized with a slow sinking guilt that none of them knew how temporary his affair was. It was probably best to keep it like that. He reached behind him to drag up his sleeping bag, "Maybe we should clean up before we do anything? We don't even know when we're leaving."

"Thinking responsibly at a time like this?" Ryuji tsked his friend, "We didn't raise you like this."

"I've already cleaned up a fair amount." Yusuke admitted. "The tent only needs to be put away, and our fire tamed."

He looked at them with another involuntary upturn of his mouth, "Okay. Fine. What're we doing, then?"

They all turned to look at eachother, unexpectedly without ideas. Ann finally looked back at Akira, wink renewed, "Well, it's for you, so you can decide!"

"Sounds fair," Ryuji seconded, clearly just at a loss of what to do. Futaba shook her head, "Guys, you can't give Akira power-"

* * *

"This is exactly what I was afraid of!!" She stamped her bare foot against the grass. Akira secured the bedsheet tighter around her tank top while she huffed out a sigh. Yusuke came toward her with makeup and a gleam in his eye. She pushed him away, "Augh! Think again!"

(It had been a dramatic moment when Akira pulled out their blankets with one question; "Anything?")

"Aw, come on, Futaba!" Ryuji complained from his spot against the tree, one foot propped up as the bedsheet he wore hiked up around it. "If we all gotta do it, that means you too!"

"Now you know my struggle!" Ann stuck out her tongue, red sheet moving more like a long gown behind her. She did her makeup in a small mirror, laughing around her eyeliner, "It's like we're all in a photoshoot."

Futaba shoved Akira's face away from her, "Whacky Aki; Bro-homo; why?"

"It was fun when I did it." He stuck a pin into the sheet, shrugging. "Plus, this is the only way I could get everyone to agree."

Her frustrated sigh is replaced by a facepalm, "I get to do my own makeup, okay?"

He nodded wordlessly, holding out his hand for Yusuke to give him the pallette. Futaba's voice cut through, "Oh, nah, I don't need any of  _that._  Just paint," she gave an evil snicker, as if they would come to regret including her.

 

"You're taking this better than I thought you would, Ryuji." Yusuke noted, staring down his painted face with a detailed eye, running his thumb across the top of his brow with harsh gold highlight.

"I mean- when I agreed to doing what Akira wanted, this obviously wasn't what I thought of... It's not a huge issue, though. I can't hang around Ann and not be comfortable with my own, uh, feminicety." He snorted, absentmindedly scratching at his face and the faint blush running down his cheek. "Plus, I was her  _only_  friend so I was her guinea pig a  _lot!"_  He caught the hairbrush thrown his way.

"You ask too many favours yourself, you know!" She called out. "' _Ann_ , how do I tell my mom I love her while maintaining my staunch emotional unavailability?'  _'Ann,_  how do I know I'm not secretly a misogynist?'  _'Ann-'"_

"Wow, Ryuji, thanks again for that _one time._ " He stressed the syllables, she knew the one. He rolled his eyes before using the hairbrush, "So, I don't get the harsh red?"

Yusuke contemplated this, staring at his assortment of makeup "I think a lighter, airy tone would suit you," he admits. 

Ryuji nodded along as if he understood. 

* * *

+One Compromising Photo!  
+Two Compromising Photos!  
+Three Compromising...

* * *

 

Akira and Yusuke left to gather flowers and set up scenery, the three models alone to go over their makeup. "Ryuji is the centerpiece," Akira declared, wildflowers piling in his shirt.

Yusuke twitched an eyebrow, "Ann has the superior bone structure."

"Futaba will bite our heads off, so it'll be the two of them alone anyway." Akira joked, entering the meadow they were in the day before. "Alright." He sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he set down the flowers, "I'll grab them and you can start setting up?"

Yusuke nodded, not looking at Akira as he left. He quickly got his easel out, then remained bent over the paints as he mixed hues together. The portrait from yesterday worked as a beautiful solo but in a  _group_  it was a mere preliminary piece to what other excellence he could capture. If he could capture it. Originals were always better performed than imitations; things vying off past success.

Gah, he was overthinking it all! Yet, the closer he looked, the more the confusion swirled on the earth floor- flowers becoming colour and colour bleeding. Yusuke bent down far enough to reach out for one, hands closing on pure tinted blue.

Another hand closes on his own, clutched tight against a blue myosotis. He looked up, seeing the familiar face of Haru Okumura. "Hello," he nodded.

She repeated it in kind, "Hello. Are you about to start painting?"

He looked around, "Not yet. My centerpieces are still being brought together. Why are you here?"

"I think the way nature has come together here is amazing." She plucked the flower from the grass, lifting it in his palm, "isn't that why you picked it?"

He looked at the mess on the ground, "Partly." He walked to the edge of the meadow, dragging the branch back into view from where they left it. He lifted it to the same position it was in the last time. Yet he couldn't envision the same outpour of emotion coming from the scene.  
"Okumura, may I get your opinion?" His hands are framing the scene as he walks.

"You may."

"I was here before, painting Akira in the same way I will paint my other friends today. The portrait was astonishingly quick to come to fruition, but looking over the similar environment now I feel a blockade on my art. Is it wise to recreate the scene to an exact?"

Haru spoke as if reciting lines, "Corporate success isn't found in the steady income of profit. Success is in the exponential growth, continually earning more than the last time around. It's why my..." she waved her hand through the flowers, "It's why many company owners care less about the means and more in the end result. Or so I'm told."

"To translate into my medium; a set without subsequent change will be without merit?"

"You can see it like that," she smiled. "I'm unsure if it works in art as it's supposed to in business. And we'll never know for sure until you paint it."

He lifted his easel further toward the edge of the clearing than last time. His bed of blue flowers beneath was mere backdrop, "Thank you for the advice."

She stood with a flower in her hair, "Did you need help in anything else?"

Akira walked in to view, leading the three behind him. He looked at Haru in surprise while Futaba hid behind him. "Yes," Yusuke sighed. "Akira says Ryuji should be centerfold, while I consider Ann the muse for the piece. May I have your thoughts?"

Haru stared at all of them, thinking. Ryuji took the time to flex out an arm, winking toward Akira, "You really like me the most? Thanks man."

"I'm gay."

Ann walked up to Haru with a smile that juxtaposed oddly with the long drawn-out black around her eyes. Her makeup suggested a glare, but she warmly welcomed her, "Hey! Counsellor Oku- or, actually, can I just call you Haru?"

"Of course." Haru smiled to hide the fact she didn't know the other girls name. "Where's.. the other one?"

Ann winced for a second, "Oh, Futaba... messed around with her face too much."

"It's fine!" She shouted, muffled in her brothers back.

"Then you should come out!" She yelled back, walking over to drag Futaba from her hiding spot. 

"Do we even have enough time?" Futaba whined.

Yusuke walked over, brandishing a bouquet of wildflowers he handed to Ann. "I assure you, I feel the most creativity centered around nature. It's possible the lack of a city and it's pollutants is giving me a clearer head and a unique disposition."

Futaba groaned as Ann pulled her out, her face splattered in blues overtop an orange surface and the front of her sheet equally spilt with dyes. White dots littered amidst the blue. She was a Rorschach pattern staring up at Haru in affrontation before the criticism began.

"I like it," she clapped her hands together, "It betrays the two other ideas of beauty by being very intense." she turned to Yusuke, smiling warmly. "Do you agree?"

Yusuke peered at the face of paint while Futaba stammered, "Y-you really like it? I mean, I thought it looked cool..."

"Futaba! I can't look at your work while you talk."

  
Problems You Have When Your Model Isn't Akira: Ryuji can't sit still; Futaba is tense in every pose; Ann won't stop making inappropriately timed puns. Akira thought it was best not to mention Futaba using a featherman pose.

"So, this was your idea?" Haru asks Akira as they both look at Yusuke's canvas.

He nodded, "I didn't think they would go along with it."

She giggled, "It's a beautiful end result to a prank."  
  
Time passed in silence as the models slowly grew accustomed to their job. Haru had to excuse herself an hour in, noting, "Please finish before eleven thirty!" Yusuke nods without really listening, and Akira spends the next few minutes pointing out irate details on the canvas to Yusuke's meticulous eyes. It was finished within the hour.  
  
  
They animatedly shoved at eachother until Akira held it up for all of them to see. Their faces were captured in perfect detail, and the rest was slowly blurred in a soft light, the flowers acting as spots of colour in places of dense white and red. Yusuke speaks behind them, "These types of paintings aren't my usual style, but I wish to attempt new heights."

"It's pretty good. Just, you know" Ryuji stretched, "Next time we tell you to celebrate, can't we just take you out or something?"

  
  
Ann was rubbing furiously at Ryuji's face, "This is the only way it'll come off!" She repeated.

He scrambled to tear his face away, coming away with his eyes highlighted in a warm pink. "Then nevermind!"

"Fine. Have fun walking like that the rest of the hike," she grumbled, packing up her stuff in her backpack. "We leave in an hour."

Ryuji laid onto his backpack with a relaxed sigh, soaking in the information as he soaked in the sun. "Enough time for another nap."

She sighed, leaving him to go take off her layer of minerals. "That's the worst thing you've ever done for your skin."

* * *

 Akira looked down at his phone, smiling at what he captured of the morning; still shots of blurred movement; his friends roughhousing and laughing inbetween painting. In its simplest terms, they were memories. Which reminded him... he would have to capture a lot of memories of Goro, in case... he sighed at himself, running a doggard hand through his hair. A twig came loose from last night. He looked at it idly. It was too easy to act confident in the moment, to be sure he could help him. Now that he was alone to ponder it, he had no clue where to start.

Goro, and whatever he was caught up in- he  _couldn't_  deserve it. He saw the way he acted when he could just be himself, remembered vague comments of being forced that lingered in an odd sick fog. His own inability to act was feeling more and more like cell bars closing in around him and- and he couldn't see his phone in front of him, just a cold clamping helplessness-

"Akira?" He turned away from the tree his body was pushing up against. Futaba was on the other end of the clearing. The firepit between them.

"Hey," he replied, face blank though it was a useless effort.

She got closer, approaching quick with half a face wiped off, the other paints blending together in water and peeling acrylics. A metre of distance between them when she stopped. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, smiling as he winked at her playfully.

"But... you're lying?" Futaba whispered. She lifted herself up on her toes, closing the gap and squishing his face together as he smiled.  _"Seriously,_  you seemed happy but now... What's wrong, bro? I-I can't figure things out and I don't know how to help without you telling... and I feel so useless," her shoulders began to shake.

He looked into her eyes, already grasping her hands back. "Futaba, it's alright."

"A-And." She pulled his face taut at the cheeks, while her own slowly filled with tears. "And I should be helping you but it's going to be the other way around  _again,_  isn't it?"

He pat her head, leaning into her as much as the tree beside them. Letting himself mold into the shape of a stasis being, affixed into this one moment. "Uhm," he heard himself say. He heard a laugh that was too bitter, "I always forget how smart you are."

He wiped away her frustrated tears, settling them down so they sat against the base of the tree. She tried to punch a tree and waste away all the excess energy that came from crying.

He explained in a slow, looping structure something he was hoping to keep secret for at least a little longer. It seemed to lift a burden over both of them as he grew honest, "So. I'm still going to date him," he continued, leaning on the tree to right himself. "Just... I'll also be digging for info."

"Do you want me to look into it?"

He shook his head, "Only as a last resort."

She snorted, "That  _would_  be cheating... he still seems dangerous."

"Who's better to handle danger, than me?" he shrugged, kneeling down and offering her a spot on his shoulders, "Time to go?"

 

  
"Alright!" 

Akira had planned to weave through hikers and forest flora alike, passing it all to meet his boyfriend at the very front of the route (where Goro said he would be the night before) wherein they could spend all their time separated from the common ilk (read: not-goros).

He was passing through conversations and catching snippets of them in the back end of his mind ("Ryuji, your mom's visiting again tonigh..." "...never went horseriding again." "The whole burger! The whole thing!") Not paying mind to who he passed, seeing them as blobs and obstructions to avoid when the unmistakable lilt of his favourite vocal chords carried him on air. He turned, suspicious as to why he heard it from behind him.

Goro, hair tied up and duffel bag laid beside the path, was assisting a girl with her backpack, whose strap had got caught in a low hanging branch. The rest of the hikers were an ongoing flood of motion, and Goro was  _there,_  static, handing the girl her equipment before turning back to the crowd with a visible sigh. Akira watched him as he shuffled through the maze of people, eyes constantly searching for a tan ponytail.

It was impossible for Goro not to see him coming. Him, acting as if he were attempting to get off a train while everyone else was getting on. Akira, with a face that was bearing the slightest hint of discomfort with every wrinkle between his eyes. His boyfriend, who waddled across teens and pre-teens alike to land next to him as if what he did was perfectly normal.  
  
"Sakura." Goro said in-way of greeting. They were in the middle of the crowd, people in front and behind them both. Goro's steps were neither hurried nor slow, despite how fast his heart beat in his chest and how slow his mind worked to keep up against the very thing he expected to happen. "Not with your friends?"

"...Akechi," he replied after a moment, off-beat but otherwise in sync to his steps. He shrugged, accidentally very-purposely knocking his shoulder against his. "I needed to ask for some extra help in... building a fire."

He allowed a smile, glancing to his conversation partner and behind him all the same. The people behind weren't paying interest, barely there in their tired steps back to camp. "Did it take a trip spent cold and  _alone_  to realize how useful-" a laugh from above them. Goro's eyes flit left. What made that taxing was that the campers ahead weren't speaking to eachother. They  _were_  being listened to. "-the miracle of fire really is?"

Akira nodded imperceptibly, "If only cavemen were half as enticing as you."

"Sakura." Goro stared at him, his name a warning. The person in front of them tensed up in surprise and even seemed to preen backward to hear more. Gossips were rampart, and often rampantly disappointed. "I suggest finding another counsellor to help."

"Okay... Can you help me find another?"

"We should discuss specifics later," he spoke, hand doubling down on his strap as he huffed forward, "There's still an hour of trail to walk through."

"An hour of my company," he corrected, flashing a smirk in his direction. Goro could smile back, snark already splitting into vowel and consonant when it hit him-

A very real weight hit his head. He paused in his step, grateful only Akira stopped as well. The eavesdropper was lost among the crowd and they, instead, skeeved out of the group and into the woodwork. Goro felt through his head experimentally, head lowered. "Is it gone?"

"Oh," Akira explained helpfully, reaching into his ponytail and coming away with a pinecone. "The squirrels are trying to woo you."

He looked up with a glare, "They're doing better than you. Hadn't you noticed that boy was listening to us?"

Akira shrugged, putting the pinecone back onto Goro's head, "Wouldn't it be more suspicious if we dropped all flirtatious pretense?"

"Are you saying I was flirting with you beforehand?" Goro dragged the pinecone out of his bangs and dug into Akira's nest, planting it there like a well hidden easter egg.

"Yes." Akira took his arm in his hand and led them back into the group; the lower half with the slower kids who didn't mind  _what_  pace they went. Large gaps were commonplace and groups stuck together like droplets of water, never too big to bleed through. It was exceedingly easy for the other kids to ignore Goro and Akira in turn for their own ignorance.

Goros shoulders lowered minutely. The next group ahead of them was a pack of three friends too loud to hear anything outside of their ilk, and the couple behind them were lost in their own world. He smiled tentatively, "...good choice."

A familiar silence washed over them as they walked further on. The trail ahead was less so littered in fallen twigs, and a cliffside was starting to rise above them, shielding them all in shadow. His arm brushed against Akira's and his fingers grazed the other's fist as it held onto the wooden frame of the canvas. "I've been wondering for a while, but that is a painting of  _you,_  correct?"

Akira nodded, holding it up for him to see in its entirety.

Goro could feel a soft flush come over him. It was just as he remembered it. "That... must have required a lot of imagination. To even think you would wear something like that-"

"I saw you there," Akira cut him off from embarrassing himself further.

"Oh," he squeaked.

"You could have said hello," he smiled coyly.

Goro says, with more forced confidence than he'd like, "I... didn't want to disrupt the beauty of the scene."  _Or,_  Goro thinks with a warbling throat,  _I hadn't wanted to face you in a situation that would force my attraction to come to light._

  
Fat lot that did.

* * *

 "Nonetheless, most cases from that era seem to suffer from some form of bias or corruption. There are few cases wherein the judge isn't acting as both jury and executioner."

Akira nodded along, re-adjusting the portrait in his grip again. "It seems like giving anyone power is a bad idea in general."

His eyes lit up, "Well, actually- Do you want me to hold that for you?"

"I'm good for now," he noted.

He continued on, "There's a saying, 'Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.'"

"You're really into law, huh?"

"It would have been nice to study... for now it's an interesting hobby- Akira, I'm holding that for you. Please don't protest." Goro grabbed the painting before Akira could finish moving it to his other hand.

He didn't put up a fight for the portrait, using the time to look at Goro with fresh eyes "... Alright."

* * *

"Hotdog seller?"

"Of course."

"Hotdog  _mascot?"_

"I've worked every job you can imagine."

"It's good I have a large imagination... Fortune teller?"

"Actually, they're pretty corrupt-"

* * *

"You know Haru?" Akira's tone told him at once that he told too much. It was an inquisitive line, said with the same energy of announcing the weather and still dangerous in it's ambiguity.

His foot scrambled under soot as they pass the last leg of the lake. Goro clutches at the portrait under his arm instinctively. "A bit. Why?"

"Her father and Yusuke's old... 'mentor' know eachother."

He steels himself for shock and it's menacing reverberations. "That's news to me. Is he a name I would recognize?"

"Maybe. He is pretty famous... I think it was Ichiryusai Madarame."

The effect is immediate. Though he wouldn't admit to it happening, Goro felt himself curl inward instinctively, back slouched as if he's attempting to make himself unseen. He straightened himself quickly, issuing an apology ladened with excuses of thinking he dropped the painting. His eyes that had blown wide are back to staring at the ground ahead, "That's a little more than  _pretty_  famous."

Akira shrugged in agreement, "So, how do you know Haru?"

Is it possible to say too little and to still say too much? He supposed it would be best to be brief, deflective, concise. He had no time to change tactics when a silence would speak more. "She's... like family," he admits. "I've known of her since childhood, yet we've never interacted until recently."

"How recent?"

"This camp. We're not particularly close."

* * *

The edge of camp came into view as little buildings peeking behind the trees that hid behind the student's en mass form. The crowd had trickled down to a slowly bleeding wound, people spilling out of the forest and into the clearing without purpose. Goro had one fist up, bending his wrist as he spoke, a tiny smile painting his face. "You know, nya?"

"What the..." came from ahead of them almost cautiously. They both look up to see Ryuji staring at Goro's fist.

"Um." Goro lowers his hand. "Yes?"

Shiho pokes out from behind Ryuji, and on closer inspection the rest of them aren't far. She stage whispers to Akechi fastidiously, "It's time to work again."

He laughs away the feeling of being caught. His lanyard chokes him as he waves himself away, "Right. I'll see you later, Akira."

"You will."

He pretends not to hear it, focussing on Suzui as they leave. Soon, there is only a mob of irritable campers in front of him, and Akira is somewhere in it but he's not a focus. They meet with the other counsellors and start to discuss organization, moving to their pre-assigned or newly fixed stations like clockwork. It's almost calming to fall into routine after feeling disrupted in his personal life. A kid gave him the finger as he passed. So calming.

* * *

Now that Akira noticed, looking around the hikers with an unbiased eye, the scene seemed to admit the trip wasn't great for everyone. Many complained, in their tattered or hungover haze; clutching to their skulls like they were vices, or holding onto friends as if lifelines before they fall. Maybe an exaggeration, although Akira could sympathise he would have been the same if he spent the night like them. His everything still vaguely ached from lying on the dirt floor. He wondered if Goro felt the same, idly watching his form amongst the dazed and confused and complaining. He never asked, and it was only upon sitting down that he realized how much it hurt to sit still.

Makoto and Shiho talked together quietly in a corner, with Goro corralling them all into the field, scolding those who left to take showers. 

It took half an hour. Counsellors handing out small group assessments for each camper to fill out, recording use of the materials as they were stacked back into place. Then they had a late lunch before finally getting the rest of the afternoon off.

"Tomorrow's lesson will be inside the cafeteria," Makoto announced. Wonder why, Akira thought absently, stirring through soup. 

 

 

Akira used the shower last, coming out feeling free of grime and still abused by nature. His towel wrapped against his shoulders, he walked to the front door of their cabin before planting himself against it. 

Ryuji was on the bed flipping through Futaba's manga; the girl in question was busying herself on her laptop, following through on promises to show Yusuke doujinshi, who was planted next to her on Akira's bed. The two finished paintings laid against the floor in a corner specifically chosen for its lack of traffic.

Ann sat on Yusuke's bed, looking through her phone for inspiration. "What do you guy's feel like doing?"

"Nothing..." seemed like the most prevalent answer. Ann nodded agreeably.

* * *

  _"Me and Shiho? We've never tried..."_

_"O-oh, that's surprising-"_

_"Do you think I-" "Do you think she-"_  
  
  
Akira woke up slumped against the door, his wet towel pressing against his neck and dampening his shirt. He groaned as he lowered himself even more, lying down on the wooden floor so at the very least his neck wouldn't cry out in abuse. "You let me sleep by the fucking door?" He moans out, head turning to see the occupants of the room staring back in dazed attention.

"Well...." Ann drags out, sitting against Ryuji's pillows, "Didn't really notice until after Futaba finished her featherman performance..."

Futaba laid on the bed beside her, her DS up in the air as she spoke. Her face was covered in her hair. "Then we were busy trying to make Yusuke watch a few episodes!"

Ann clenched her fist, nodding, "And Ryuji tried taking off the makeup again but he can't handle the raw power of scrubbing your face with an iron sponge."

Yusuke lay on his stomach on top of Akira's bed, all the pillows moved from the headboard to allow a space for a large sketchpad. His hand stayed dormant where it connected to it via pen. Ann explained, "Experiment. He's asleep too."

"And Ryuji..." Akira twisted his head left to see him lying against the door with him, snores quiet and eyes closed to reveal rose gold. "He said it was about solidarity..." Futaba muttered while pressing buttons erratically.

"Right. Alright..." Akira got up, wincing at the effort. It was a harsh pain to his back that screamed he hasn't slept in a bed in two days. He dutifully returned the towel back to the bathroom, running the tap warm. Their voices were quiet under the stream of water, drowned out by his hands pressing into his skin.

A squeak. "Are you..."

"Bi? Yeah," came Ann's dismissively attentive reply. "Didn't I mention that during the hike?"

Futaba snorts away her uncomfortability, "I tuned you out half-way."

He walked in to Ann hitting Futaba with a pillow. With wet hands (wow, could sure use a towel) he dragged Ryuji to the end of a bed, lifting him atop Yusuke's covers and giving him a proper rest after years of disrupted burial.

The sky outside the window was turning red. No, those were the spots he was still seeing. It was always blue. A heavy blue that spoke of nothing but whispers of the night to come. It was tempting. It was tempting as he yawned, setting up the alarm on his phone and placing it directly against his ear. He waved away snacks and settled back into the body pillow Futaba threw his way, not questioning the appearance of pink argus as he clutched it tight.

* * *

Goro was in the third attempt of tying his tie, a motion that should have been ingrained into his skull that he was slowly forgetting with the days away from normal society. Finally, his hands couldn't find reason to pull crooked fabric and created a... satisfactory effort. His face beamed in neutrality, efforts rewarded by the booming array of silence. He gave a gruff sigh before untying it and starting again.

And again.

And... he was one pull away from perfection when his arm jolted in shock by the sound of something hitting his door. His tie was a mess, the knocking continued and Goro could only stand there undoing the mass tighly constricting his neck.

His hand itched against his side as he kneeled down to peer underneath his bed. The briefcase lay there dormant. He pushed it further back from sight.

"Coming!" He finally called out, and the knocking stuttered before ending entirely. He wordlessly picked up things fallen in his last tantrum, twisted the setting on his lamp so it burned brighter and walked toward the door.

Would it be Niijima, coming to discuss the upcoming events (so late at night?) Niijima, growing wise to his action and subsequent reactions? Hopefully not Okumura, finally talking to him about what he's dread since before camp began. If it were Suzui, she would be easy to turn down, turn away and leave on his doorstep.

If it were a camper, it would be easiest- he opens the door. Not  _that_ camper. Akira peered up at him through hair that blended into background and eyes catching what little light was left in the sky. Goro had to concede; his lover matched the night. He holds the door partly open, his face peeked out from the open space. "Yes?"

"I told you we'd see eachother later."

"And I've seen you. Were you hoping to come inside?"

He smirked, "What if someone catches me visiting you in the night? What of your maiden  _honour?"_  He gasped.

"And who would see you?" He pointed out, squinting even to catch him in his entirety. Smiling, he opened the door nonetheless, granting a thief entrance to his home. He looked around his own room, suddenly on edge. He sat at the nearest bed, "It's... Well, welcome in."

Akira looked around before sitting next to him, "It's pretty bare, huh."

It was the truth. The room had no personal touch, and all his items remained in his suitcase. And all his other items were locked in his briefcase. The bedsheets were stark white, and not even custom pillowcases decorated the room. He shrugged, "I didn't bring much to work with."

"I can help you redecorate." He offered, laying his back against Goro's bed. His feet still hit the floor as he stared upside down at bare cabin wall. "Is that lamp even yours?"

Goro laughed, taking the opportunity to tower over Akira, hand roaming to his side as he came into the others view. His hair lay around Akira's face. "No, honestly. I believe each cabin comes with one lamp, a bathroom, and complementary raccoon."

Akira ran a hand through Goro's hair, "Is that why my snack reserve ends up half-empty? I always thought it was Yusuke."

His eyes scrunched alongside his smile as he imagined the scenario, "You've made me imagine Yusuke dressed in a tanooki suit..."

  
  
"You came here..." Goro repeated, holding Akira gently as they laid side-by-side.

He repeated himself back. "Just to see you."

"Ah," Goro looked as if in disbelief, asking hesitantly, "There's nothing you need?" Akira shook his head, burrowing himself back onto Goro's neck. The sensation of a mouth idly laying kisses along his throat continued. He clutched at Akira's hair. "W-Well, okay..."

 

"You want to spend the night?" Goro repeated the other boy's intent back at him. Akira nodded as he dipped back in for another kiss. Goro's eyes widened in alarm, limbs frantic as he pushed away. "Wait! We- we need to talk about this!"

Akira paused, backing away to look at Goro as he stammered, blush wrangling his embarrassment into a blessed warmth that dusted his cheeks like freckling, "Do... do we need anything to continue? Like..." his expression strained as if it was an effort to get the word past his lips. "Lube?"

Akira fell off the bed as he babbled, face red as he landed, "I didn't come here for sex!"

"Oh my god, be quiet!" Goro hissed, stepping off the bed to help Akira up, "And... what was all that shit about sleeping over if... ?!"

Akira took his hand, looking like he hadn't realized how any of that sounded, smile apologetic, "Yusuke's in my bed; Ryuji's in Yusuke's; and Ann and Futaba took the leftovers."

"You really just want to sleep?" Goro looked slightly mortified, lips wet with the other boy's saliva. "I'm such a..."

"Making out was good, too. We can- we can keep doing that."

* * *

"Eugh..."

"What?" Akira lifted himself to sit while Goro trailed a hand down his own neck, fingers making motions down his cheek.

"I'm technically covered in your spit."

He gave a short breath of laughter, "Is that so bad?"

"Ten percent of my skin's surface is now laced in your fluid."

He winced, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you."

"My skin cells are coated in a fresh film of bacteria from your  _mouth,_  and all subsequent germations." Akira got up from his spot, while Goro just spoke louder, "My ear is probably celebrating the introduction of new pathogens to it's-"

Akira threw a wet towel at him before settling in next to him. "Happy?"

"Yes. Thank you." 

"Goodnight?" Akira ventured, one hand privy to turn off the lamp.

"Goodnight," Goro replied, eyes closed as he wiped away at his face. "What time is it, anyway?"

There was a click of the lamp and the gentle blue hum of Akira's phone screen lighting the dark. "Almost half past midnight."  
...  
...  
...  
Goro shot out of bed, scrambling to find the clothes he had put away into a hamper. "I'm supervising Sakamoto's visit!"

"Are you late?" Akira sat up in bed.

"Thankfully not. It's at one," he rushed to the bathroom. His voice carried over in the din of quiet, muffled in and out as he carried on changing, "I have to admit, you... me. I'm still barely... to adapt myself to you."

He ran back out just as fast, bathroom light flashing like lightning before the room settled back into darkness. Goro faced the door. "I wouldn't bother waiting for me. You should rest."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."  
  
"Alright." Goro had doubts. Great tumultuous doubts about leaving Akira in his room. The boy was on his side, facing the door with a sleepy grin as Goro waved goodbye. Maybe he wouldn't have much to worry about. Perhaps all it was was paranoia filling in otherwise quiet thoughts.

Sakamoto's mother seemed positively receptive to the change in her son's attire, if the teasing was any inclination. The cold air of the night was cradling his face. His face that was still wet from the towel. His hair had to be less than manageable by the odd look Sakomoto gave him before entering.

He never thought he would be taking seriously any criticism from him, lest of all a stare. After minutes in the cold, Goro entered the office to nab his coat that had settled on the rack inside. He came in to find the mother patiently showing him how to use a makeup wipe. He left with an odd feeling in his gut. Warm as he now was, he didn't think it was healthy for his veins to burn like  _this._

Sakamoto had looked annoyed, but underneath it all was the affection he held for her. And his mother, in turn, was laughing at his expense and yet still offering assistance.

And Goro was here, in the cold, leaning dutifully into the cabin wall; wondering if his mother would have reacted the same.

  
  
His cabin door opened with a click, neither inside nor outside lighter than the other. From one dark space Goro walked into another, heat replacing dread. He bumped into his bed, felt around carefully for the other body present, and fell asleep in a careful heap next to it, arms slowly extending and wrapping and holding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so late :/ i ended up chopping up what i had finished for this chapter and putting it into nxt chapter meaning hopefully the wait will be much shorter!! 
> 
>  
> 
> [ Uhhhh links twitter again](https://twitter.com/uhmuhmmmmmmm?s=09)


	12. Day 12: Test/Baseball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM UPLOADING THIS AT A RELATIVES CHRISTMAS PARTY.... TRULY THE BEST
> 
> I said i would upload soon.... i was trying for two days... that was ten days ago :") I HAD A LOT OF XMAS SHOPPING OK also i was rly unhappy w this chapter in general but now im happy enough to share :€ i was going thru a lot of revisions and standstills in writing + technical issues
> 
> But i also realized even if i dislike the chapter _now_ that its going to be necessary for the future + getting ovr writing bumps is just part of it to get to the good parts

Akira hopped out from his spot underneath the showerhead; impromptu shower finished for a moment of naked contemplation on his boyfriend's toilet seat.

The faint noise of the outside world barely audible through the sound of water rushing to drizzle away into nothing; steam still filling in the mirror as he wiped it away absently, looking for something distracting in the small space of a bathroom that wasn't even his (much less the person in the other room's).

Akira rose from his seat, abandoning doubt and pretense to continue outward, shirking on old pants and running a towel through his hair as if he were starting a chainsaw. Flyaway bangs loose like twigs.

He entered the main room of the cabin; three identically bare beds staring at him. And a lone bed standing out, filled with a sleeping beauty.

He called out, "Awake yet?"

His voice met silence. He sat on the bed next to Goro's. He thought he had heard something in the shower, but now all the sounds were gone and only the other boy's breathing remained. He waited for them to start up again.

Did he imagine it? Was the loss of civilization finally driving him mad, or was it simply one of their phones going off on a dejected call? Akira doesn't wait to think about it, already moving to shake the boy awake.

Goro's eyes opened instantaneously, settled onto Akira in a frenzy and slowing to a steadily-relaxed halt at the realization he was being woken up by someone. His eyes ran through the gaps between Akira's towel and pants and the wet imprint of water that ran down his chest in bare light. "You took a shower?" He questioned, voice tired.

"Are you sad we didn't take it together?" Akira joked.

He huffed in faux-annoyance, rolling his eyes as he rolled the rest of his body away, lying on his side to face the near wall; his smile tucked away with him. He feels Akira settle down beside him completely, wet body hitting dry sheets and making an imprint. Goro twists his head left, "Seriously, how early did you get up to shower?"

"Early?" Akira asked in return, his eyes blinked as if he just realized something obvious. "Oh- your  _alarm_  has been going off."

"What?" Goro got up from his spot on the bed, looking around as if he could pinpoint where the silent machine was. "That- it stopped? It only stops after half an hour- is it-"

"Goro-" Akira placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder but he shoved it off, waiting for the shrill beep to start again. In a minute, it did. He rummaged around in his sheets, tossing aside pillow cases to the floor.

The sound of a tentative knock made him jump, already sitting up in bed. His hand ripped the sheet from its place and he hears something clatter onto the floor. Outside his window, he sees bare hints of movement. Niijima? Her head pokes into frame from where she stands at his door. A loud knock startles him out of merely watching.

"Fuck, fuck..." He turned to face Akira in bed only to see the end result of wavering sheets as he removed himself from the scene of the crime. Akira was already hiding, quickly going  _somewhere,_  white sheets and scrambling vision blurred as panic settled in.

This was easily the worst possible outcome.

Goro noticed the distant ringing in his ears as  _not_  related to the panic distilled into him but rather his phone, still missing, still somewhere, and apparently unimportant to the nigh unavoidable drum of Niijima's knuckles to his bare wooden door. He took one more swift look at the undersides of the beds, picking up pillows in search for Akira who was now unseeable at his spot somewhere. He breathed out, walking to the door.

 _My room is a mess. She's going to see the water stains. She's going to know._  He looked down, assured of his own clothes and finally opening the door.

"Niijima... Hello," he welcomed, looking despite his best efforts, perturbed. "It's not often for you to stop by. Would you like to come in for some coffee?"

She acknowledged his joke, "Funny."

Goro stared futilely, "Thanks... I try. On the risk of sounding rude- why are you here?"

"You weren't at the meeting, or at the cafeteria setting up. I take it you slept late?"

"Yes." He takes a moment to pause, glancing back into his empty room. The door is left ajar as he paced over to his bed, hearing the same monotonous beep but not seeing the device responsible. "I'm sorry, my alarm has fallen off my bed. I'll be dressed momentarily, if you could leave-"

He turned to face her at the entrance, only to find her absent. Instead, she's reaching down, next to the leftover bed opposite his own. "You mean this?"

His phone lay on the floor, buzzing in a pattern on wood panelling. What had sounded far away and inconsequential was booming in his eardrums. An impossible archaeological find was staring him in the face as visions cleared from his still half-working mind. He looked around without letting his head turn.

"Ah... Yes. Thank you." His hand out stretched to take it, his eyes distracted and sliding toward his bed.  _Surely he went under_... he feels the bare brush of metal against his fingers and then hears a clack of his phone against the floor once more. Akechi inhales a shuddering breath. Of all the times for his fucking depth perception to fail him... he bends down along with Niijima, who was already attempting to be helpful again. Goro reached with a fervor for the phone. "Really, thank you." He stresses, standing up with the object finally silenced in hand.

Makoto gave him an odd look before raising with him. He glanced at her weakly, "I'm out of sorts in the morning..."

"I just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened. It's not like you to miss anything," she looked around. "Did I wake you up?"

 _No, that was my boyfriend_. With a shrug of his shoulder he relented, "More or less. Although I should thank you for stopping by."

"I was just doing what I felt was best. Please don't forget your duties during today's test."

"...Right." he smiled at her back, door clicking into place with a soft echo into silence.

Akira's feet scuffle along the edge of the floor as soon as she's gone. Akechi ignored the sounds to go through his suitcase; white shirts lying in an array inside to distract him. He doesn't look up at the figure coming closer.

"A test?" It asks, voice near his ear.

"It's more basic logic, accompanied by a few physical conditions." Goro explained, picking out a new white shirt while he made an effort not to showcase his weakness. His breaths shook as he laughed, "My, wasn't that close?"

Akira's head landed on Goro's shoulder as he looked over his clothes with him. He folded over a few white shirts, and a black one peeks out underneath. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Goro takes the shirts and settles them back into place, but does nothing to shrug Akira off. A hand sneaked up the side of his shirt and he felt cold fingers on his stomach. He swats the hand away, turning to Akira as he gathered the boy's hand in his. His eyes avoid his. "I'm fine. Shouldn't you be worried about yourself?"

Akira thought aloud, "Should I be worried about a test you didn't bother warning me about?"

 "What kind of counsellor would I be to tell you beforehand?" Goro answered, already sidestepping Akira and the bed, his new pair of clothes in hand. He closed the bathroom door behind him, before opening it again to peek through. "Not to say I won't be rooting for you."

"Will I be seeing you during the 'test'?"

Goro locked the door without answer. He leaves the bathroom ten minutes later, hair brushed and teeth brushed and clothes brushed... Something like that. His eyes are rubbed to rid himself of sleep. He entered to find Akira already back to laying in bed, one change evident.

"You're wearing my shirt?"

"It's nice."

"It's all black," Goro joked, walking over to study him as he grabbed his bag from it's spot beside the wall.

"That's why it's nice!" He stressed, running a hand down the front.

"Ah," Goro smiled, "I suppose it helps with your career of sneaking around."

Akira gave a mock scoff, "I don't sneak around for just anyone, you know."

 

 

"I think you should leave," Goro admitted, already by the door ready to go himself. "You still need to spend time getting ready."

Akira paused in his flickering of the nearest lamp, "Except I already showered? And I thought the counsellors needed you now."

"Well, yes..." he trailed off, no actual argument to voice.

"I can just hide out until the coast is clear."

Goro tapped his fingers against the door, "You won't get bored?"

Akira waved his phone around in response, "Plus, you do keep a few books," he gestured toward the nightstand.

Goro nodded imperceptibly, and then gave another shakier nod as if to reaffirm himself. Truthfully, the novellas had been hidden inside his suitcase before this, but if he had to entertain Akira... "Okay. I know I shouldn't have to say this but... please behave yourself."

Akira paused before nodding back, "I swear it."

His laugh rose nervously as his shoulders finally slacked. Goro smiled at his boyfriend, "Then, see you later. Good luck on the test."  
  
AKIRA: goros actually real bad at acting non-sus  
AKIRA: -5 stealth to his char sheet  
FUTABA: we're making char sheets??  
AKIRA: do u not have a list of stats for all ur friends  
FUTABA: no i do  
  
Akira poked at the stack of books he had eyed in Goro's absence. Hardcovers that lent nothing about their contents but the vague idea they would be insufferably long winded. Upon picking up the first in the stack, he squinted at it as if it's faded spine could reveal anything.

He ran through the book's pages, laying down while he let paper fly down with gravity, eyes searching for inked in passages or small indiscernible scribblings. The next book was the same, with the one after yielding nothing but childish scrawl that confirmed only how loved it was by a younger Goro.

Most of them seemed to be mystery novels. Akira thought it was fitting, considering Goro's love for detectives; considering they seemed to be partly mysteries to eachother; considering the biggest mystery in the room wasn't in any of these books; he had only hoped the key to it was.

He had found it last night, inevitably driven to act on his instinct. Akira left the latest book on the blanket, split open and bending at the spine. He reached under the bed opposite his own until his hand grappled onto his earlier sought treasure. Hands slowly slid it out from under the bed. Just like yesterday, it was locked.

Akira remembered the specific insignia from his first week at camp. The vivid reminder of Akechi's absence accented by the A evident on  _this_  case and not the suitcase he flaunted on top of his bed.  _This_  was what Akechi took with him when he went home, and upon return it looked as if he hadn't even changed his clothes.

_Why?_

It had a four digit code, all numbers currently reading zero. It's silver surface gleamed and the A stared back at him. He had ran his hand along the seams, trying to find any weak spots. All he found was an airtight casing, holding mockery and possibilities. Pandora's box, containing all of Goro Akechi's sins.

He flicked irritably at the lock, going backward from the highest number and back down to zero. None seemed to stand out, worn or broken from overuse. He gave another quick once-over before stowing it back into place. Birds cry outside as he casually went back to the bed and began to read the random page he had left off.

 **AKIRA:** how long would it take to guess a 4digit code running from 0-9  
**FUTABA:** 10× 10 × 10 × 10  
**FUTABA:** do i even want to know where u r  
  
Akira yawned into the bed, thumbing the page while texting out a reply.  
  
**AKIRA:** no  
**FUTABA:** even if u had enuff time it would be 9999 tries  
**FUTABA:** ezier to just br8k it open  
  
He ran his hands through his hair. The book flopped closed.  _He would know if I did that..._

Nothing in the medicine cabinet.

Nothing in the nightstand drawer. Akira likely left the place with more of an imprint than Goro would in his entire three week stay. He begrudgingly accepted his lack of findings and walked the whole way down back to his cabin, knocking on the door at his arrival.

"You guys ready for the test?" He asked, poking his head in. In the time it had taken for him to guesstimate the worth of staying in an empty cabin and returning here, all his friends had joined the land of the living in differing states of consciousness. Now they stared at him in horror.

"Test?!"

 

The looming threat of a test sucked out all resistance. They looked skyward, the sun shining bashfully from beyond the clouds. In a shine they couldn't notice past the brink of their despair, "I mean, it makes sense," Futaba muttered. "You have to have some sort of written evaluation eventually."

"But a surprise test!" 

"Should we  _try_  to study?" Ann asked, her head hanging low off the bed.

"Goro didn't even warn me, so maybe we'll be fine." Akira tried, searching into his friends betrayed expressions.

Ryuji threw a ball up into the air. "No offense, but I think your boyfriend doesn't care  _how_  well you do. Maybe he even wanted to see the look on your face at the test."

Akira could admit that was plausible, shrugging his answer.

"Even Shiho kept quiet..." Ann moped.

Ryuji groaned, "We're boned!"

"Are you certain of what you heard?" Yusuke asked, standing upright by his bed, twirling a pencil nervously. 

"Makoto said it herself." He nodded. "It's supposed to be set up right now."

"But we're having breakfast soon!" Ryuji proclaimed, opening the cabin door to eye the manacing building in the distance. "We're  _bone-zoned!"_

"I do not think that means what you think it means," Ann snorts despite herself.

  
  
"I don't know if we have much to be scared about. Makoto isn't terrible..." Futaba started off, grabbing her lunch tray and slamming it onto the table below. "Just super strict."

"Strict enough to make us suffer," Ryuji muttered, eyeing the boxes off to the side, planted in a corner of the caf.

"You're saying she doesn't want anyone to fail?" Yusuke interjected.

"I'm saying she wouldn't intentionally create a hard test. Look at the gene pool we're talking about here," Futaba rolled her eyes toward her peers. "None of us are here for a Studious Honour Student Award camp."

"So, that's why instead of studying we just played sonic for an hour?"

"I was trying to help!" Futaba insisted, elbowing Ann while she laughed. She hesitantly agreed, "It _did_ calm me down seeing Ryuj run into the wall seventeen times."

"I'm terrible at running! My leg??" He pointed out.

"This was a ds game."

"I think the point still stands."

"I think you're right," Akira suddenly proclaimed, nodding at Futaba. "The test will be easy."

  
They had to be set apart, tablelengths away from eachother and more tables brought in to accommodate after the outcry had calmed down. Though they had expected it, Ryuji and Futaba shouting out with the rest of the noisy campers was vaguely therapeutic.

Though it seems they'd expected backlash; with Makoto's glare nearly perfected to incite a chill down the camper's spines. The sound of a padlock being placed on the front entrance by Haru shocked the other children into swallowing their critiques just long enough for Makoto's speech to start.   
  
"I don't expect us to be needing that," she looked apprehensive at the lock, "But it is a necessary precaution. You're being given one booklet, one answer sheet, along with a pen or pencil. You're allowed to consult the booklet, or write it in if you need. You're allowed to have a break before pursuing the next course and after handing in the written part.

"You're allowed to walk out at any point, if at the risk of having a misdemeanor on the report of your stay here; and a status of incomplete on all camp activities. You're allowed water and your own snacks.

"You're not allowed to talk to others. If we catch you cheating, we're taking in what you have as complete... This 'exam' wasn't created with difficulty in mind; it's an extensive list of things you must know if you're going to survive for the next week. And this is the last way I can try to instill the information into you.

"We've given auditory instructions and hands-on training the past two weeks. This is for those of you who learn more through visually  _seeing_  the information. The booklets are yours to keep after the test." Makoto chanced a look around the disgruntled teens. "...You may begin."  
  
He was kept near the middle of the storm, his friends scattered in debris around him. Ann looked behind herself quickly, shooting a thumbs up both him and Ryuji's way before starting. Yusuke nodded from beside her in the same way before staring down at his open page.

Akira heard a noise. Amidst the sneezing, shoe-tapping, scrawling sound of granite hitting paper- Like peeling back a layer of wood from a table. A knife run alongside a desk. It was deliberate and eerily erratic, like jumps in between- morse code?

 _People here are really more than we give them credit for,_ Akira admitted to himself, looking his own test in the face. It was a booklet and a questionnaire sheet, and for all the cumbersome weight to it, it was easy. Then again, Makoto Niijima wasn't known for being cruel. Then  _again,_  his boyfriend wasn't known for being cute.

God, even saying that in his head had him pressing his face against the table.

"Wh-" he heard the beginnings of Ryuji's question cut short, test-mode awakened and enforced by years of the education system. His rushed whisper is rife with misunderstanding, "We'll pass, man! Believe!"

He gave a weak thumbs up, his face buried in the book as he looked around, the staccato return of rhythmic pen taps not lost as his eyes sought out the culprits. His gaze lands on the conspiracy theorists, hands quick with twitches. The one with circle glasses was looking back at him upon being noticed, and stuck out his tongue even as he received test answers.

Answers that weren't even correct. He could make out Futaba's distinct snort of derision and her own familiar tap penning out a warning. The two streams of messages quickly became a confused barrage of mixed signals.

" --.- ..--- -....- -.. / (Q2-D) --.- -.-- / ... ..- -.-. -.- / (QU SUCK) .-- .... .- -....- (WHA) / .- -. -.. / -.-- --- ..- .-. / -- --- -- -....- / (AND YOUR MOM) .-- . .----. ...- . / .. -. - . .-. -.-. . .--. - . -.. -....- / (WE'RE INTERCEPTED) ... ..- -.-. -.- ... / - --- --- -....- / (SUCKS TOO) ...... (......) / ... - --- .--. (STOP)"

Akira chimed in with his own thoughts, rolling his eyes at the irony of the wasted effort it took to drone out the message, a series of taps and long scratches against the table. ".. ... -. - / - .... .. ... / - --- --- / -- ..- -.-. .... / .-- --- .-. -.- / - --- / -.-. .... . .- -" (ISN'T THIS TOO MUCH WORK TO CHEAT)

"-.-- . .- .... --..-- / -.-- --- ..- / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. -. .----. - / -.. --- .-- -. .-.. --- .- -.. / .- / -.-. .- .-. (YEAH, YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A CAR)"

Both a valid concern and a distracting one, as the thought gave the others pause while he worked through the first few questions without a nagging annoyance in the back of his head (only Futaba's laughter, and she could never annoy him, so). If he focussed in on the morsecode (YOU CAR DOWNLOADING FUCKERS) he would end up laughing too hard.

 _Firepits_ should be surrounded by ten metres of dirt from all sides (a rule he hadn't followed); poisonous berries are identifiable mostly by _colour,_ with the most common being white, yellow, or green (Akira remembers almost eating those on a dare); when in a wildlife populated area, one should always change out of the clothes they'd _cooked_ in (whoops); and the only way anyone could fail this test is if they didn't bother to try. The clues were labelled, diagrams blatantly underlined with answers relating to the fifty-question answer sheet. The questions that weren't spelt out were common sense and common first aid.  
  
He was one of the first to hand in the test, his friends taking their time going through the book (Ann), or doodling out answers (Yusuke). Ryuji was trying his best and Futaba was bullying the conspiracy nerds. Despite all this, and knowing the contents of the easily-finished quiz, Goro seemed smug with pride at taking Akira's test as one of the first finished. He glanced at it in his hand before nodding toward the outside, "The rest of your test is there. Good luck."

 

They were all waiting by the outskirts of the field for Ryuji to finish, ready to walk back to the cabin as a whole.

"What did you struggle with? The knot identification?" Yusuke asked in search of solidarity.

"Nah, I took forever double-checking my answers. Don't you hate it when your answers are off by  _one,"_ he squeezed his thumb and forefinger closer to demonstrate.

"The actual test was easy," Futaba concluded, "But super long."

 They all agreed at that, Akira nodding. "Outside was..."

"Kind of a weird way to bring up new things." Ryuji shrugged.

"I dunno," Ann admitted, grinning with her jacket sleeve rolled up. "I felt pretty cool showing off! Haru liked my axe technique!"

"Think she's into that sorta shit?"

Futaba snorted before thinking it over. "...Maybe."

"Bullshit! How would you-"

"Ryuji! Hey!" Came Shiho's voice from behind. They all turned to see her running with his hoodie, "You forgot this. Right by where everyone is setting their  _fires..."_

"Oh, shit, sorry! Thanks," he took the hoodie out of her outstretched hands. With a sheepish scratch of his head he asked, "Think I did any good?"

"I'm sure you passed," Shiho answered honestly, "You actually did well starting the fire in under five minutes. All of you were... exemplary," she finished after thinking up the right word.

"I started my fire in  _one minute!_ " Futaba squeaked before she was pushed down from her jumping state by Akira, who levelled Shiho with an offer and small smile. "Thanks. Want to come back to our cabin?" 

"I really can't. After we're done conducting the exam, we're grading it too. You guys should have fun though."

"Alright."  _So Goro would be busy today_. They nodded their goodbyes and carried off into the distance of their cabin. Shiho watched with a tired happiness, a small part of her wishing she could shirk her responsibilities.

 

 Lunch was shunted to go back to the cabin. Ryuji shuddered looking back at the mess hall. "It was weird being in that room for so long! You can't make me go back." They all quietly agreed.

"You were the only one in there for so long." Futaba teased, "It was sorta cramped, though..."

"Stuffed," Akira added. "The lights were dimmed, too."

Yusuke continued, "Like sardines in a dark, moist can..." 

"Okay! It's not a day with my friends if there's no disturbing imagery! Want to do anything?" Ann asked, leaning against the cabin wall. "After all the fish talk, I kind of feel like a swim."

"Or some baseball?" Ryuji grinned, swinging an invisible bat in his arms, "I remember seeing some equipment back when we were putting the dodgeballs away."

"Do we have enough for a game...?" Ann looked around, noticing the rest of her friends diving straight onto the cabin beds. "Besides, maybe they can't handle it."

"Was that a threat?" Futaba asked, already peering over her laptop.

"A promise," Ann smirked, ignoring the comment for competition. "I was pretty good in middle school!"

"You were  _alright,"_  Ryuji admitted, sitting at the base of his bed. "All I remember is that time you kicked a kid in the shin with the bat..."

"You told him where to meet for the fight!"

Ryuji made a face, "Why did I do that... oh, you shit, you were gonna tell on me!"

"You were the one ogling Mitsuki!"

Yusuke gave a tired sigh as Futaba spoke through a scrunched up face, "Really, Ryuji?"

"I-I was young... I didn't know any..." his excuses dull to quiet mumbles, "I see your point. So, baseball?"

 Akira nodded, "If there's nothing else..."

"You don't have something planned?" Futaba grunts.

"More modelling?" Yusuke questioned. "Admittedly, there is something about the aerodynamic poses found in baseball; especially the pitcher's form."

Akira squinted at his friends, "Baseball's good. Swimming was fun that time with..." he coughed, turning his head toward the roof. "Should we go?"

* * *

 

 

In the cold morning air and the whisper of skin against his; it felt right. It was almost  _justified_  to jump ship, to abandon pretense, to collapse himself into another's grip.

He felt dread fill his stomach as soon as it was over, they were parted, and Goro had nothing to distract himself.

He regret his choices. All of them, seemingly holding the same weight. Losing himself to Akira's magnetic affection, and his voice that brought hypnosis to his consciousness; his hand that laid burning in his moments ago felt increasingly slimy in sweat when he regarded Niijima's cold stare.

It was directed at Suzui, but her tone pierced into Goro more readily than he would admit. Her speech masqueraded as a gentle reminder that felt moreso for him than anyone else. "I just want to be clear where we stand. I know you're exceedingly close to some of our campers, and I have friends here too; but we should always maintain an air of professionalism."

Shiho could only smile in response, looking at her from across the dark desk. "Makoto, I know what you're trying to say... I would never do anything to tamper with their test results."

She sighed, "I know. I'm sorry if that was uncalled for..."

"You've been under a lot of stress lately, huh?"

A muscle in her face twitched, "Wha- what do you mean?"

Shiho looked back in patient confusion, "Well, you're the only one who's taking charge. This place was hard enough to run with ten counsellors on duty, nevermind that they were all way more experienced."

"That's something I'm interested in as well," Okumura moved forward in her chair, eyes full of unasked questions. "We never got a full reason as to the counsellor's disappearance."

"Never? They were supposed to call us about the details weeks ago..." Shiho slouched back, staring at her hands in thought.

"Shouldn't we get back to the test?" Goro asked, drumming his fingers on the underside of the table. "Aren't we all still grading fifteen students each?"

"I was thinking," Makoto chimed in, her gaze on the paper folded over in front of her. "I could mark the exams in my own time, and have Haru look them over for me."

A pause. The air in the makeshift office was tense, with both sets of counsellors looking back at eachother amidst the paperwork. Goro felt his back itch in cold sweat. He had expected some form of derision from Niijima, but to shut him out of the process entirely, and to include Suzui too...

She continued, "I still don't trust either of you not to tamper with the results in some way."

"...Really?" Suzui looked outside the window instead, "I. I don't know what to say."

Her voice grew softer for Suzui. "You've demonstrated to be lax around favoured campers. It's a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed. And Akechi-kun," her voice felt like knives, though it could have been mere imagination. "Your newfound friendship with Akira Sakura is a bit obvious."

So they had been caught after all... or had she merely pieced it together from other moments? He could only smile. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"I understand perfectly, Niijima-san. It must feel good to wave around power for once. To be somewhere unshadowed by older deeds and  _older_  accomplishments."

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" She challenged.

He stood out of his seat, "Not at all. Now, if I'm not needed anymore..."

He tipped his head toward the door. Niijima nodded as if to allow him permission. He gave a wandering look to Suzui, who only stayed planted in her seat as he left. Her voice is faint by the time he's outside. "I won't fight your decision, Makoto, but I also don't want you to think of me as..."  
  
And now Suzui would be suspicious of him as well. Likewise, this interaction showed he was already on thinner ice than he thought with Niijima... it was increasingly hard to see this relationship as anything beneficial. Sure, Akira made it... Maybe some things made this worth it.

He wondered if he was worth any of Akira's time. No murderer _c_ ould matter without his tools. 

 

Goro settled into a small space on his bed, book in his lap and pillows surrounding him. His lights were off and all his windows open, an action that was supposed to soothe him. The warm sun hit him without obstruction, and the outside air was almost pleasant.

It was only by his own fault that he couldn't relax. His eyes sought out every misstep in his peripheral; and noise usually followed, inescapable. He laid still.

A recognizable sound and block of colours gave him pause. The words on his page are involuntarily illegible as he looked outside his window. He marked his spot while he made his way to the door, opening it without pause or plan.

Akira's band of merry thieves is marching past the cabins, carrying equipment in their slow-cooked arms. Akira is at the helm; covered in sandbags. His earlier pair of pants replaced for shorts and his shoes seemingly a different pair, though the only distinguishable note is in the colour, heavy black. His gaze shifts from the open field in front of them to land on Goro as he exits the cabin, waving him over as he walked steadily toward him.

"Baseball?" Goro wondered aloud, eyeing the bat in the younger Sakura's clutches as the one Akira mentioned having under his bed. The rest of his team seem complacent to standby and wait, Takamaki throwing gloves to Kitagawa in an attempt to make him juggle them.

"It could be fun," Akira defended, gesturing to the sandbags in his arms. "I assumed you would be busy with..." he trailed off, eyes trailing toward the 'office' near the beginning of the cabins. The boy in question took a look at the cabins lined up in a row beside them, and quietly looked away.

"I was told to leave." He ran a hand through his hair, a noticeable weight seemed to anchor him as soon as he admitted to it. "Niijima is marking the exam herself. She doesn't trust Suzui or I. She's... It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Akira paused, silence marred with questions. He settled for the answer he knew. "It matters."

"Not right now. You have a few other things to attend to, clearly." Goro smiled as if caught in a joke he couldn't explain, giving quick glances to the party behind his boyfriend and back. "Are you planning on washing my shirt before you return it? Or did you know I'm partial to sand."

Akira looked down at the black tee, accented in dust and scuffed markings from the bags. He swore, holding the equipment at arm's length. "I didn't realize-"

"I'm joking," Goro complied. "I've had worse on it," he gave a halfhearted shrug, throwaway comment tacked on.

Just then, a shout comes from the peanut gallery. "It's getting dark soon!" Ann swears, looking toward the two boys with an impatient nod, "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, we'd like to know by  _today._ " Ryuji looked up from his slouch.

Goro's tentative voice reaches Akira from beside him, "They're not wrong... Will you be joining them?"

He looked back, "Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"...I'll watch."

  
  
Baseball! Baseball...!

Akira's bat connected with the shot, ball hit with a satisfying thud of metal against mass. It flew past Akechi's spot on the ground, soaring, he followed, to a tree that thumped with a hollow bang. He clapped half-mockingly, smiling as Akira waved. The place in his novel was bookmarked by his finger, yet he found that every moment he took to read he was distracted by-

"Do you need this?" He jumped in his skin. Turning back around, Shiho was throwing the ball in her hand, absently watching the game in front of them.

"Not... me," he followed her line of sight to the match. "I'm sure they would appreciate it back."

"Right," she smiled, throwing a fastball that forced the wind to bend, hair flying with it. To his chagrin, she sat down beside him.

"I should apologize for my outburst earlier." Akechi began.

Shiho stretched out, one leg bent against the other as she retied the shoelace. She muttered, "Outburst?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "With Niijima-san."

She smiled at him before turning back to the task. "Say sorry to  _her,_  not me. Besides, I was in the same boat."

"... How was it after I left?"

Her eyes wavered to the sky, her head languidly rolling around as she shrugged. "Okay. It-" a ball scrambled into view above their heads, landing behind them. Shiho stretched to grab it, eyes not following the motion. "It was understandable. She doesn't hate us."

_Doesn't hate you._

She threw it back. He gave a sound in response, non-committal as he watched Akira run past second base and onto third, sandbag dusting up the grass. Futaba was up to bat. Their loud smattering of commentary was lost in the waveforms, mere echoes of their emotion reaching the two counsellors ears; along with laughter.

She watched them with a visible itch to her limbs, a straight back in anticipation of the next ball. "Doesn't it make you want to join in?"

 _Yes._  "No," he replied, already picking up his book.

She sprung to her feet without push from a wayward ball. "Are you sure? I'm going to play!" She turned to him at his spot on the ground. Her smile was overshadowed by the sun behind her, afternoon sun no longer on his crown and instead his eyes.

He shook his head in a finality. She shrugged before scampering over to the others, chatting with Ryuji as she passed him to go up to bat. Her words lost in the distance.

* * *

 Akira ran up to him, hair clinging to his forehead and bat grasped tight. Their game ended up running longer than they planned, evident by the growing tint to the sky. His breaths came in short bursts. Behind him his sister was already lying down at first base, waving her gloved hand around as if she could catch in that state.

"You still don't want to play?" He mouthed, air rushing in too harsh to make his words vocalized. He stood in front of Goro, clouds behind him in a mist of purple in the sky.

He shook his head, again, tepid smile relaxed in the grass. Akira slowly held out the bat to him, "Then, did you want to leave? I'm tired of playing," he confessed.

Goro looked behind him, fingers meanwhile bending a page into a footnote. "If you're sure," he replied, already clutching his book in his left hand and using the right to grasp the bat and leverage himself to his feet.

"I am." He confirmed, tugging at his shirt. Cool air was a godsend. He twisted his head to see the book as Goro's side, unfamiliar from the tomes he perused earlier. "Is that any good?"

They began to walk to the cabins. Goro held the book up, inspecting it as if he could discern its contents by the cover alone. He knew from experience the fabric was well-worn, and its title faded; "it's familiar," he started. "I liked it when I was young and it kept a special place in my heart... I don't know if others may like it so much, or if I would enjoy reading it if I hadn't read it in the past."

"So, it's subjectively good," he laughed at himself. "Which is true for everything, now that I think about it."

Goro peered sideways into eyes looking back too honestly for a book review. Akira's black shirt was nearly tinted blue. He let his eyes run lower, to their pair of shoes roaming in the grass.

"Objectively, it's about a girl who loves to dance; whose infatuation for it wanes under her parent's involvement; she goes through ordeals to make them happy," his explanation grew to near-muttering as he continued to speak, "her feet begin to bleed and she grows  _ill._ Upon the realization they can never be pleased she... runs away into the night... Ah! I ruined the ending..." He looked up into Akira's face, noticing it wasn't bored as he expected, but of a neutrality he admired.

"I wasn't going to read it anyway." He shrugged. "It sounds..."

"Sad?"

"It's not too happy. Maybe bittersweet?" Akira tilted his head to his bat, "She got away in the end, right?"

They ended at his cabin. Goro's face was set in a faint smile, "I concede to focussing more on the middle part of the story during re-reads; though your point has merit."

Akira gestured toward the cabin with his bat, "Did you want to...?"

 _Yes._  "I can't. Not today. I've spent too much time idling around, and as much as I like our time together-" he closed his mouth before he could say more. "I have to help with dinner."

"Of course," he shrugged, leaning against the cabin door to open it, "We'll always have time later."

"Sure." Pointing out the obvious lack of time was likely the wrong thing to do. 

Akira leaned in closer, to which Goro backed away twice as far. "We're in public." He mused, eyes shifting to take in the populace; the lack of people outside. He continued as if to flesh out his point, "the cabins have eyes."

Akira smiled back, rolling his eyes. "Okay," he ran a hand through his bangs, the ends of which stuck up in the cold air. "You sure this isn't compelling you to come inside?"

"Sure," he repeated before waving goodbye.

 

 Makoto was locked away in their cabin, marking with scrutiny; taking note of who may actually survive and who wouldn't be considered ready for next week's trip. The door in front of her opened and she registers pink hair entering to sit next to her, legs touching.

She sighed, "I'm actually glad at these results. It seems either our course is  _truly_  simple, or the amount of kids paying attention was larger than I thought."

Haru's voice cheered through the air. "So, mostly passing? That's wonderful." 

Makoto nodded, taking the hand that was offered to her left's grip. "Only a few troublemakers will be staying behind... Are you looking forward to next week?"

"Of course."

Makoto smiled tersely, one test passed for another. "There's... another matter. Do you think I was too harsh on the other two?"

Palms squeezed. "My honest opinion? Yes."

"It's-" she sighed again, clearly fighting herself, "They need to be reprimanded, or at the very least informed. I doubt they're aware of who they're involved with, and if what your associate said was correct-" she sucked in a breath.

"You didn't." Haru fell stiff under the news. "You talked to him without me."

Makoto looked down at her lap, pen wavering in harsh lines against the random test. "Yes, and I'm sorry, however that's... not the point. I know the logistics of-"

"Mako-chan," Haru moved to grab her, disrupting the papers as they flew to the ground. The bed lurched in their favour. "What sort of deal did you make? I know how that man thinks," her grip tightened. She stared at her for seconds that felt like minutes, waiting for the other to cave.

"...I don't know where you found Kaneshiro," she whispered, pen tensed in her grip, hand a fist. "He's coincidentally the man who has been terrorizing students in my school. Maybe it looks as if I'm in over my head...

"I said I wouldn't be pushed around anymore. I meant that, even if the values changed. I only hope they don't hold the past against me."

Haru tried to speak past the doubts in her head. "Do you need help?"

"With convincing the Sakuras? No."

"With... _anything."_

"You're already helping by being here. You wouldn't leave because of this, would you?"

She smiled. "That question is so unfair. There's only one answer I could give to that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New fic by new years ??? I hope i hope i hope wow posting this at 14% battery truly a dying party wish


	13. Day 13: Group Therapy/Leadership Exercise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively; Week 2: Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO KILL ME
> 
> Really sorry ror how long this took ! ! I rewrote a lot and then rewrote again and then ended up going with an older version of things and then not and then there were a LOT of conspiracyvideostowatchonline- and somehow the chapter came out at 10k? I tried trimming it....
> 
> This chapter is surprisingly very haru-oriented. It also took very long to get out because well, writing block; not a lot happens in this chapter, so i wasn't v driven to write it. The next chapter is the same, but it also has a lot of fluff so- so- The next chapter is coming out next week or you can really kill me really

With four volunteers staffing the campsite, and the few paid workers being unfriendly or elderly; the work between many was often silent, with less noise than imagined when machinery was removed. So the long stretch of quiet was expected, yet Goro still found it accompanied by the awkward urge to speak-- especially given his partner for the hour was Makoto Niijima.

Still, he tried what he could to ignore it, a subject she was exemplary at if one denied the lines carved into her poker face. They were already forty-five minutes into polishing equipment and counting stock, on opposite sides of the room when he had the murderous (been there) idea of approaching her to apologise.

Afterwards, he forgot the words. He knew how they sounded and if given a script he would replicate the same self-deprecating tone, the cadence of his defense, and perhaps still end up at the same instance; speaking with the faux-revulsion of someone lost in a tangent.  
  
"Your assumption I would stoop so low as to date Akira Sakura?" he coughed up a laugh, idly grasping his chin. "It's frankly insulting. Of course we're friends, but that's all."  
  
She hadn't stopped counting inventory, "Is that so?"  
  
"Are you aware he used to put rocks in his mouth? I don't believe I have to explain anymore for you to understand."  
  
He saw her crossed arms, posture shifted. She looked... "I do. I've come to appreciate what a good liar you are." Oh, she looked disappointed. _I don't get that too often._ "The rest notwithstanding, I accept your apology even if I question the validity."  
  
She walked over to her items, plucking out one from a small side pocket of her bag and bringing it over. "As for Akira Sakura," she flipped open the compact mirror, holding it out for him. She was looking at the far corner as she spoke, face tinged. "You should talk to him about leaving marks."  
  
"No-" he hissed, his left hand flying to take the mirror and assess it himself. His right hand held his hair out of frame, his left angling the mirror until he saw the back of his head- and there it lay, bruised much more than the morning after, a peacock's vibrancy echoed in the colouration, a stark difference of shade from the rest of him.  
  
A hickey. A fucking hickey, one he had noticed _before_ it was so evidently coloured. When it was just a bite. "Of course that would arouse suspicion... Is this your only evidence?"  
  
She lifted her eyebrows, "You can't lie about physical proof. And even if the person wasn't him, you're clearly overstepping your boundaries as camp counsellor."

"What if it were Shiho?"

She gave him a _look,_ "I can still write in the report your uncomfortably close relations to campers."

"A--" The mirror slipped in his hands, awkward stumbling made to catch it. "That's- only speculative. And, if I could say, a gross abuse of power."  
  
"Maybe so." She pursed her lips together. "I just worry about the longevity of... this. I know the Sakura's are dangerous people, and it's in your best interest to stop engaging."  
  
"If I did, would you refrain from your comment?" His voice took on a bargaining tone as he held out the mirror. "Hypothetically."  
  
She held that speculative gaze, as usual, before accepting the item and nodding. "If you aren't in a relationship, then you shouldn't have a problem keeping your distance." Her eyes skipped to the clock, where the new hour was blatantly displayed. "I was almost finished with inventory. Can you tell Haru to do the last box for me?"  
  
He wilted against the metal shelves, "Of course. Goodbye." The door collapsed behind her, a loud bang followed; he idly felt the bruise, the resultant pain under his fingertips. He wanted, badly, to punch the shelves, revel in the echoing metallic clang of the items rattled in place. He swore under his breath. Destroying their inventory was the last thing he planned to do.

He felt vindictive, parts of him humiliated- _envious_ Niijima had waved a magic wand, used her sister's power and became all-knowing. That was the only way that made sense. He pulled a cardboard box out of place to rest, polish-soaked rag tipped to the floor. He looked almost relaxed by the time Okumura decided to stop by.

They nodded in greeting.

"She wanted you to finish the inventory," he answered the unspoken question, patting the identical box next to him. "This is what's left."

"Thank you." Okumura sat down, legs folded on the cement floor. Tights dirtied to sift through the box. There was a stool ways beyond her, but he didn't see the point in it now.

"Did you notice?" Goro asked.

She smiled in response, not looking up; her hands sifted through rackets as if she actually kept score. "I beg your pardon?"

"The bruising I'd obtained. Recently," he added the clarification. Her eyes dipped from her task for a second and he saw an unspoken truth; this was one of the first times they were alone.

"I did." She replied curtly. Her hair shadowed portions of her face, parts usually uncovered by the hair tucked behind her ears. She didn't move to fix it.

Goro nodded. "One wonders how Niijima knew."

"The same way we all did," she supplied, quick to deny. "I... No offense."

"I wonder what she doesn't know." he continued, staring into the bucket of disinfectants and cleaning supplies at his feet. He turned to Haru, who was wearing an expression he couldn't coin.

Silence yawned into the space, replacing Okumura's breathing, or his heartbeat. They stared at each other from their respective mound, neither smiling or pleading at first glance. Haru spoke first, more filler than anything; "She's always been a great student... It follows to reason she knows a lot."

Goro choked on a laugh. He had nothing to say. He reached for equipment on the middler shelf, something to focus on while thinking. The back of his shirt lifted in her view. She averted her eyes. "Come the start of camp, I assumed you were here for me," he shrugged, his words turning to mockery as he rotated the skewers in his hands. Burnt bits of wood, marshmellow, or unknown net the blackened tip. "But now I have the growing suspicion I wasn't even a thought."

He scrubbed at the stack, revealing their silver surface one at a time. Okumura remained silent, redoubling the efforts in her workload. She walked the distance to the stool to retrieve the checklist, tendrils of the words she wanted to say lost in her mouth.

Eventually Okumura muttered into the empty air. "You knew?"

She had finished inventory. Goro was balanced on a stool to dust the higher items. Okumura was eye level with the low shelf, running a hand down the sandbags for tears.

"You were hiding it?"

It was vindictive to say, but he hardly regret it. She hadn't expected him to say anything at all. So they spent seconds staring at each other before they returned to their respective tasks.

"Do you have any sway over Niijima?"

She felt along the edge of one bag, prodding with her finger for a hole. "Not when she's passionate about something. Those siblings are..."

He hid a smile. Dust flew into the air. "Not the best at blackmail?"

She laughed, reigning it in with a stumbling cough. "Yes. You would think..." She poked through the worn-down lining. Sand bursting under her thumb, sprung loose like water free from a pipe. She watched it roll down, land next to her feet in a puddle. "Well, that's subjective. I don't think I know what you would think." Her hand moved to cover the hole. "I... Isn't it time for us to talk?"  
  
  
Cleaning was three quarters of the conversation. Small snippets of dialogue shared between removing mattresses that had soaked in water;

("How long has this been here?"

"Makoto and I weren't aware until we tried using it..."

"Until you tried _use-"_

"Oh, look, is that our father issues I see in the distance!")

the tent poles and dowels cleaned of dirt;

("I remember using one of these..."

Her tone was incredulous. "Even you went camping with your-"

"No. I was alone. Ah, there they are again.")

all CPR dummies sterilized for the third time. Haru and Goro held a body between the two, stiffer than both were used to. They took to sitting on boxes while they talked. Their voices not above a whisper.

Haru looked beside herself, as if her insides couldn't adjust to the past hour. Goro couldn't blame her. The things they'd each suspected to be true of each other were passed along as false as quickly as they were voiced. And still the possibility remained of one of them lying.

Goro slipped his rag into the crevice of the doll's eye, "You can say it."

"... This whole trip has been odd for me," she surmised, her voice treading over words as if they weren't ever said aloud. "I'm having too much fun, so much so that punishment seems like an inevitability. Maybe I'm assuming, but don't you feel the same?"

He lowered his gaze to the mannequin, "Yes. In all the same ways. Seeing you here that first day..."

She hid her face behind her hand, "I recognised you instantly." He nodded. He could remember. "You must have seen the- the shock on my face."

He gave a tepid smile, truth following the wave of his rag. "You were scared. I was much the same; though, I suppose you had your reasons."

"Maybe." She lowered her hand. "Yes... Why this camp? I was told you went somewhere far away."

She doubt the odds Goro picked the same place by chance. That was fine, when Goro suspected her of being his father's mole for more than half their stay.

"This was the only camp within driving distance of errands I had to do. Before that, I was trying to find the farthest one from civilization.'

"So that trip you took home..."

"It was nothing over the top. A few family men, I'm sure."

"You say that as if it makes it better."

"I think it does. If it were anyone important, I would have been called back into town- money-desperate fathers, on the other hand?" _Between losing a father and losing a mother..._ "I would call it a blessing to kill off the deadweight."

Her sentence is said with clarity; voice just above speaking and loud enough to question who she is trying to convince: "I _love_ my father."

He stared at her as if waiting for the punchline. The clock above them ticked, one loud click for the new hour. Haru's phone beeped. "Good for you. Our time's up." He steadied the doll upright, tossing it into the bodybag Haru held open.

She held the door for both of them.

"That was more productive than most of these are."

She replied as she left, "Yes. Thank you."

They left down opposite directions of the hallway. Haru stepped through the far-off exit, kept in a corner of the building near the parking lot. Flower beds had started to sprout where she planted them next to the otherwise innocuous exit. Her vegetable garden was farther off in the forest, hidden just beyond the treeline. She walked further past that, to a spot next to a stump that had been cut down the year before. Shiho was there, as she'd texted earlier. What she didn't mention was how she held her palm against a spot of dirt, with herself crouched low next to it, gaze expectant and determined. She didn't look up as Haru arrived, merely nodded. "So it's breakfast time?"

"It started around ten minutes ago."

"Great. Akechi should be covering for me. I need you to put a hand... where mine is. It's- hard to explain."

"Okay..." she got into a crouch, hand smoothly running down the dirt leading to the base of the trunk. She placed her hand over Shiho's.

"You're going to feel a push."

She nodded.

"Okay!" she shut her eyes and pulled her hand free. Haru felt it instantly; a bunch of furry appendages spasming against her. She pressed her other hand against it, the growing squirms reminding her of bubbles fighting to reach air. "So... Is this a, um-" she removed her gaze from her hands to a stretching Shiho. "What am I touching?"

Shiho was flexing her wrists, walking the short distance to bathe in the sunlight. "Ah! I was there for an hour." She beamed at Haru from where she stood. "Oh, thanks again. That's-" she pointed at the hole. "A burrow."

A thousand tendrilled beasts brush against her- "Of ... Fluffy snakes?"

She walked toward the trunk, drumming her hands against it. "Rabbits!"

"Oh."

"Yeah." She settled her arms behind her, tapping a shoe against the ground before she jumped up- "I need to find a box, something big enough... thanks!"

She supposed that made sense... If left to breed, there would be a hundred rabbits by the end of the summer. And then they would have to change the purpose of the camp. She just had to wait for Shiho, with both hands glued to the tree, as- what was that in her tomatoes?!

It's the stout shape of a white t-shirt, or even maybe a few birds picking at the remains of her experimental agriculture. For a moment the shoving relaxes, the rabbits beneath her accepting their fate. It's quiet, and Haru is hopeful. So hopeful she lifted her hands and moved to stand, not a step taken when a rabbit popped out at the speed of a cannonball, soaring through the sky as if to taunt her!

 ~~Fuck~~ \- ~~cunt-~~ darn it! Haru peeked inside the burrow, the remaining red-eyes staring at her from the dark. She clamped down their disappointed stares with her hands, sighing ruefully at her crops. The thing that was crouched over twisted menacingly in the wind and-

It was a plastic bag, floating absently among the plants, stuck in place by a wayward stick. And... that was the rabbit hopping toward her garden... Haru stared until it meandered to the cabins.

  
  
"Thanks again, Haru." Shiho smiled through her breathless state, arms no longer weighed down by the eight kits, two adults and Haru's crushing conscious. They ended up in an unused locker room, small cubicles layered in dust from a year's worth of un-use. The box laid out on the grey-blue table while Shiho sat beside it. Haru held a towel to the bottom of the door.

She felt a run down her spine. "Don't mention it... They were much too close to the campsite."

"We got lucky. Six kits isn't a lot." Shiho thought, tapping on the table. An adult took the chance to leap, hind legs pushing them forward into the air. Shiho swore, catching it between her two hands. She gently lowered it back into it's kids. Haru tried not to be envious of her reaction time. "And both adults are doe's..."

"We should dwell on that later." Haru reminded her. "The activity's in half an hour."

"You're right," Shiho jumped off the table. "Your group is outside?" Haru gave a sound of affirmation. "I might let mine play with the rabbits..."

* * *

Haru's voice, soft spoken, matched the scenery closer than any other kid's in the makeshift circle; she picked it after all. A clearing with wildflowers and weeds blooming in the areas outside of the shade- as if the heat weren't enough to dissipate their existence. The tree overhead provided little coverage as the day loomed closer to lunch, and the shadow of the leaves bent along an unseen axis.

Akira took the time to do as the other kids had done, wildflowers plucked in boredom and grass uprooted through sheer strength. The flower Akira held was carefully de-petaled, his whispered musings amusing Futaba, who sat next to him as the only other one of their group to be smushed into Haru's pile of campers. "He does... he does  _not..._  he does-"

She gripped a handful of petals in one fist, tearing them out of the flower. "He does not!"

He smiled. One petal left! Akira plucked it out and held it up to Futaba. "He does."

She stuck out her tongue, "Good for you-"

"Is everyone fine sitting in the grass?" Haru asked, settling into the circle. Her face half shaded and one hand raised to block the sun from her eyes.

A kid next to her shrugged, "We'll be camping anyway. We have to be fine with it."

"That's fair, and exactly what I wanted to talk about; your experience a few days ago."

"Didn't we already talk about this?"

Their confused mutterings gave Haru pause, and a soft giggle wormed it's way through the confusion. "You didn't think we would leave it at  _that_? Surveys are important for crunching data but they can't substitute human interaction."

Her comment met silence. A caterpillar crawled along a kid's arm, his gaze more involved in the tiny legs wriggling along him.

"... Isn't there something you want to say? Or avoid, the next time over?" At the prolonged silence, she sighed. "I know you're all tired, but it would be kind of you to play along, at least for a while."

If he was honest, it was the wording of the last sentence that set him off. Akira leaned back against the tree, speaking as if he contained the hivemind of the silent campers within his nod, "Sure. We can try this."

Haru smiled. It was ridiculous to assume he knew what everyone else wanted, but as long as nobody spoke out, they would all have to go along with it... bystander effect. Or something.

"Great. Maybe you can start..." Haru hadn't fished out a list of questions outright, but the way her eyes flitted to the right indicated her search for a memory; a question. "Do you have any memorable moments?"

At the far away picnic tables Akira recognized Goro's group, talkative and lively gestures filling up the space. He had no idea if they were fueled by camaraderie or lingering animosity, just as he was unsure if Ann was making light conversation or heckling his boyfriend. Without looking, he knew farther still was Makoto's group, standing in a clearing, a ball evident in the counsellor's hands. Shiho's... prolly inside, he reasoned.

He returned his attention to Haru. "Yeah," he shrugged. Haru implored him with a look, and he  _did_  volunteer to speak... "Hanging around the fire was cool... Getting drunk was where the  _real_  fun was."

They both knew Akira wasn't among those lucky few caught with alcohol. "Are you looking forward to continuing your drunken tirades next week?"

He knew he was being joked with, sarcasm for sarcasm; but her smile made it difficult to decipher the authenticity of her tone. Or maybe he just couldn't read people. "Of course. I'm a man of culture."

She giggled along his silent chuckle. The growing confusion settling over the other campers in silence, or their awkward laughter stepping disjointed into the scene. Haru clapped, "Okay! A bit more seriously- You, what are you looking forward to?"

 

The more attention Akira spared toward speculating on Haru's mannerisms, the more he questioned the need to. She had a gentle quality to her smiles, unmocking in the upturn of her lips; a near affirmation of how their struggles molded their personal growth; like trees growing out of their rings or the thorns casual evolution onto the stem of a flower.

She adapted as any politician was trained to. And that answered itself, didn't it? Because she was practically a politician's daughter; the Okumura heiress. A title that made her susceptible to intrigue on it's own, given the man's crimes, and furthered her a curio for her information on Goro's own home life. He only had to steer the conversation himself, and work it the way Haru did now.

The entire nature of the conversation so far veered from advice and revelations; they'd landed in general talk of the camp itself, the trip to come, and what they would see themselves doing afterward when spiderman kid spoke up.

"I'm terrified of spiders," he admitted, head hung. Haru gave a reassuring smiled, confusion hinted beneath. "What would you do if you were to encounter one?"

"That's easy. I'd run." He made small pew-pews of his spider web before shrugging, "I hate anything like that."

"But you're super into spiderman?" said a kid next to him. He sniffed, "I don't see your point."

"Well," Haru began, "It's an excellent strategy for all animals. You shouldn't try to engage with anything wild."

Another girl laughed at that, commenting as she redid her braids. "Yeah. It's true for people too. Like when my old man gets drunk; you just gotta get outta the way." She made a wave with her arm.

Akira imagined the way Haru clenched at the grass. That, or she was ill prepared for the shift of conversation. He wondered, watching her nod at the girl. "That's true. I hate to admit it, but people too..."

"Aren't they the worst?" Akira chose that moment to speak, not wasting his chance. "Humans, I mean. We're the only animals to kill for sport, and we're cruel without reason."

"It's a byproduct of being smarter than everything else," one kid muttered, "was how my teacher explained it."

"But that implies the smarter you are, the worse you get. Does intelligence really equate to cruelty and mercilessness? Counsellor Haru, what do you think?"

"I don't..." she choked her answer.

"That's bullshit people say to excuse themselves, isn't it? Like draconian-level punishments meant to make  _examples_  out of people." Said someone Akira didn't think was so smart, and for a moment he thanked the random firecrotch kid for being so outspoken. "That's just what people say to justify their own acts of violence."

Akira scooted across the circle to high-five firecrotch in the chorus of approval that followed, catching sight of Haru as he sat back down. Her hands were hidden behind her, and her eyes forced attention. She spoke through a withering crowd, cutting through the noise. "So... intelligence doesn't equate cruelty. From that, don't you think even those impossibly smart but terrible people can be saved?"

"Saved?" Akira repeated.

She forced herself to calm, "Kind, I mean. Grow to be kind."

Akira pushed himself to speak, unknowing of the words that would find purchase- but he never did. Firecrotch spoke up before he could. "I don't think so." He was running his fingers through the holes in his pants. "There are limits to what you can do to another person until you become something... worse."

"Right. And the world is so corrupt because those monsters keep running it, the same as it was before them." Akira supplied, nodding along despite himself. Part of him was embarrassed at how true his words rung to his real philosophies, speaking in front of like-minded rebellious shits like him.

"Following that train of thought..." Haru carried on, foreboding lined in the crease of her brow. Akira glanced between the kids who glanced at Haru, curious to her point. "It makes all of your actions  _pointless,_  doesn't it? What is the use of going against power when it's inescapable?"

She spoke with a crumbling resolve, a quiet insistent will that withered as fast as winter flowers. "Sometimes the best course of action is not to get caught, or not to engage at all. It's fun to imagine we can do anything... but you don't want to give anyone a reason to punish you. I don't think any of you here deserve that, and I'm _grateful_ you were brought here and not elsewhere. Corrupt people who exist only for themselves... don't care about you. They just want to punish what goes against them. And they're too big to destroy."

"This is getting off topic." The first time she's actually said those exact words. Akira felt like he'd achieved something, but it felt dirty in it's aftermath. She was definitely aware of something that caused her to give a speech, a fear more substantial than their generalized hatred of authority. A tangible threat, whose face she saw in her head at the mere mention of power.

"So, how do you think next weeks trip is going to go?"

Akira glanced away for a moment to spy Goro's group in a similar state of quiet solemnity. Makoto's group forgot the ball and abandoned it to lay on the grass as well. Akira wanders into the conversation to hear it had shifted over to their time after camp.

He noticed eyes on him, realizing he had been asked something by the sharp tip of Futaba's elbow in his side.

"Probably going back to being homeschooled." He shrugged, watching for the spread of latent confusion as his answer was taken in. No? He sighed and fell back onto the weeds.

Haru smiled, an amused grin this time. "Thank you, but the real question was what you're going to miss about camp once its over."

"Oh."

Connections he made while here, obviously. He was still going to see Futaba, and there was no doubt Ann and Ryuji were going to continue being in his life. Yusuke might live with him if their conversations continued in the direction they were going... And there were still people he had no chance of talking to outside of... well. There was still one person adamantly refusing it.

"The people."

"Your summer romance?"

A laugh, "Did Makoto tell you?"

"Sure."

"Yeah... they're not keen on anything serious, I guess." He shrugged. "Or it's out of their hand."

 In that small second after- she _looked_ as if she had something she wanted to say; but conversation continued without missing a beat.

* * *

 Lunch was exciting. If whispering sisters and run-amuck rabbits were the general idea of a good time. Futaba monopolized his time by asking in between bites of her meal what _exactly_ he was trying to do and what the fuck that monologue was about. He couldn't answer her truthfully; the involvement of Okumura foods with whatever family Goro had (there were no important figures tied to the name Akechi either) would set off alarm bells that would rival a school's- but he could tell her a few observations about the heiress herself.  
  
He looked ahead. His friends still gathering food and chatting with the lunchladies for more of a serving. "Did you get the feeling she spoke from experience?"  
  
The thought made her face squirm, "A little..."  
  
He shrugged. "Maybe she'll need our help."  
  
Futaba's food fell out of her mouth, "W-We're  _not_ -"  
  
Just as she yelled further protest, the back door of the cafeteria opened to reveal brown and white blobs that ran out with a fervor, Shiho chasing after them. Few people dove out of their seats to help, with a lot more lifting their legs to rest on the benches.

"... Rabbits?" Futaba muttered.

He squinted. "Rabbits."  
  
Futaba spared a second to stare and sigh before she shed her jacket and leapt into the fray of action. Akira, likewise, leapt into place next to Ann and the rest of them by the cafeteria ladies. Chatter came quick from Satana and Yusuke, discussing different ways to spice food when surviving on scraps. She'd been on the run for a few years, right before the government decided to- a rabbit jumped into Futaba's arms and she froze, unable to move, babbling about what to do to a frantically disarming Shiho.

"We should help." Akira said, in that way that implied he wouldn't. Ann was hiding a smile, "We  _should-_  it's just so funny," she lifted her other hand, as if taking in the room. Children running after bunnies, hiding or otherwise unaffected. Futaba, giving them the finger whilst wrapping the rabbit in her clothes.

Behind them, Ryuji snorted. "They can handle it without us."

Ann made a face. "Really? I thought you'd be the first to try and help." She sneaked a glance at Ryuji that turned into a full examination, squinting at his face until he squinted back. He was petulantly turned away from the mess, idly moving his food around with his fork. "You're scared!"

"No! Of those?" He sputtered the statement before he pushed away her prying eyes, glancing behind her shoulder. "Look- they're already done."

The cafeteria had turned into a makeshift petting zoo, rabbits held nattering as they were pet and prodded. Akira thought one of them tried to bite the hand that held it, but those holding them did with an air of experience- so only one kid got bit, waving his hand, he allowed the rabbit loose of his grip. "Ah, shit-" They watched it duck under the nearest table, hiding behind backpacks.

Haru came out of the back holding a box each rabbit eventually scooped into. While that went on, Futaba and Shiho eased the rabbit out from under, the former chattering her teeth in an impersonation, the latter holding it like a baby once captured.

Akira was too curious. He approached them both, checking behind him to see if the others had followed. Ryuji was at the back, reluctantly watching.

"Hey!" Shiho greeted them.

Akira nodded, watching the rabbits wide eyes. "What are these for?"

Shiho held it up by its armpits, waving its arms in front of it as she laughed in it's unassuming face, "Soup!"

Akira's face contorted, eyes narrowed as he thought it through. "You're fucking with me."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "We found a whole nest of them burrowed deep by the treeline."

"Which is too close for comfort," Haru supplied, weaving into their circle to hold the box under Shiho's catch. "Which is why we'll be entrusting one of the groups to release them into the wild, farther away from us."

Slowly, she lowered the rabid beast into it's family, captivity forgotten while they brushed up against each other. Ryuji peered in with the rest of them, muttered whisper among the aw's. "They're kinda cute..."

Ann flipped her gaze to him as if to say, 'Stop hiding your love!' When an idea struck, and she said that instead. "Hey! Do you want the rabbit stuck in our cabin?"

Both counsellors looked confused at that, concern coating the edges of their stares. Haru sweat. "You have some?"

"Yeah- this one was inside too-"

"Uh, actually," Futaba began, "It wasn't our cabin, you know? It's theirs-" she nodded to the boys.

Shiho nodded along with the clarification, eyes shining too earnest for Futaba, whose glasses caught on the glare. "That makes sense. You do have the closest cabin to the woods."

"We'll come by in the evening, or you can deliver it personally to the office. Is that good?" Haru asked.

"Psh, yeah. We got it." Ryuji nodded. "Jus' a rabbit, after all."

Ann gave him a look. He steadily ignored it. Yusuke questioned the use of rabbit hair paintbrushes, flitting his hand across one's back in a moment of spontenaeity. His watch beeped in a way that caused the rabbit to bristle under him, drawing his attention to his wrist. "Our lesson in leadership is going to start... post-haste."

After the little gang of ne'er-do-wells left, Haru and Shiho had a moment to themselves. And they thought, and thought in the growing silence of an emptying cafeteria... "Hey, Haru?"

"Yes?"

"Wasn't their cabin the one listed as needing repairs?"

"I think you're right. We didn't have enough time before camp began. I don't recall what was broken, either..."

"I do. Last year the campers staying there broke a hole through the back wall."

"..."

"They  _said_  they found it that way - and that could be true- there were a lot of wild animals that year."

"I- And you think the rabbit got in that way?"

"This pack _did_ have two female rabbits. What if they have a second burrow?"

The rabbits chattered endlessly.

* * *

Was it obvious Makoto was in a rush? Rabbit issues aside, she had her own unfulfilled agenda. Her speech fully fleshed out, but hurried along as if she couldn't say the words fast enough, their syllables too slow for her mouth to process. She revised it the night before for a case of her inability to lead them. Speaking of-

"You don't know the type of situations you'll find yourself in, or even the people you'll face them with." Makoto flipped her attendance sheet over, glancing at the seating chart with renewed vigour, "which is why you'll be separated from your current tablegroups."

Groans. Moans. Makoto's own scoff. "I'm going to be reading out the names of the groups and passing out scenarios. Each person at your table should be involved in the brainstorming, and from the answers we can start thinking about our potential leadership styles."  
  
"After you've gone over the questions, each group will give one verbal solution. There should be one person recording your answers. And-" her phone vibrated in her pocket. She jolted in place. "We can discuss... how to better take control of scenarios presented in the wild."  
  
She prepared for this too. After passing out papers she allowed herself to check the phone, dark screen peeking under her spot at the desk. Why did they always want to call. She texted her fellow counsellor. Ah, where did she put the paper- no, she already handed them out. She just had to wait. A harsh task when one had things to do.  
  
Conversations rose and crumbled like empires in the minutes it took for Akechi to arrive. Each second was a fleeting pulse of someone else's sentence flitting in her ear, shrugs worming into a half hearted shoulder check at the far table- one group in the distance thought they were sneaky in the way they took out a pack of playing cards.

She didn't call it. Just as important as realising your role in these ugly hierarchies was recognising when to let go- something she wasn't good at, something she could only excel in for this very ugly reason.

 _What am I doing? Have I really contacted_ \- her phone pinged. Not who she expected. She looked up at the figure waving through the panelled glass of the door.

 

 _Doesn't she look like she has somewhere to be?_  Makoto's speedwalk dripped in urgency that she didn't so much as greet Akechi when passing him the baton. He returned the favour, nonchalant in his skim of the classroom. Makoto had already explained what to do to them- all he was good for was to wait on being called on.

By design, each group was wired into self-governed politic; either staring desolate and waiting for the answer to come, or one person answering for the whole group, or all of them talking with none of the work done at all. Typical. He stopped in his assessment; Akira! That almost made this fun.

He looked like he could fall over in his chair. His body sinking lower to the floor, a new hoodie almost pulled over his face. What a trash mammal. Goro sighed lovingly. Temptation had him staring out the window, unwilling to give Akira more attention than necessary. Those benches outside could use more polish, and-

Akira fell off his chair. He heard it happen, saw the vague shape of him scrambling to right himself, heard above all else his sister's tired reprimand; and laughed about it silently.  
  
"----- Akira!"  
  
Akira jerked his head forward, crashing to consciousness from an almost-sleeping state. A crack in his neck speaking for him as he hid the grimace. Futaba stared at him in his unresponsive state, doubt winding it's way into her speech. "Well? What are you gonna do?"  
  
He stared back at the group as he righted himself on his chair. NPC, NPC, NPC. It was possible Akira should have known their names by now. His general knowledge was as lackluster as theirs of him. Nobody else took to speaking. Makoto's reasoning for this group grew clearer with each tumbleweed that fell in the distance. The time elapsed in silence.  
  
"Uhh," he massaged the back of his neck, fingers bending into the skin that was otherwise newly weirdly taut in that way. "Fire a flare?"

"To stop those girls from bullying your classmate?"

Oh. He nodded under their stares, "Thought we were on the bear one. It'd be best to record the evidence."

"Really?"

"We can't just punch them out," he shrugged toward the group, "and stopping them once isn't going to stop them forever."

Futaba stared down at the paper. Their answer lacked anything concrete. Akira bit back at the part of his mind wondering if he wasn't doing enough to help her- but, no, she chose to be the notetaker and she wasn't floundering under the attention.

Even if he was the only person she was able to look in the eyes.

"People move for either punishment or reward..." she muttered.

"How would we reward a bully?" Shot one of the few from their earlier activity.

Her friend rolled his eyes, "Doesn't sound right."

"We all know what they  _want_  the answer to be. Go to a teacher and..." the group focussed their attention back on Futaba as she hurried to jot down the expected answer.

"Yeah, that." Akira shrugged.

"I'll put down both," Futaba sighed, pencilling out the short answer on blackmail. Oh, Makoto would appreciate that one. She took a look at their other answers while the group began chatting amongst themselves.

Akira found his eyes slipping further right. Goro was looking at his phone, evidently not in his direction in any capacity- eyes slow lidded. Akira thought he saw a hint of movement, a rise of eyelashes that he had to imagine from the distance-

"Ack! When did Akechi get here!" One kid looked beside herself, head bent upside down to take in the teachers desk.

"Maybe five minutes ago," Akira shrugged, defensive instincts lining his throat before he coughed them away, a muffled response out in their stead. "You sound like he burnt down your crops and poisoned your water supply."

The girl looked a second away from a snort, holding it back to roll her eyes. "Uh, I don't know about that. We just go to the same school."

Akira jolted upright, arms slammed to the table before he leaned forward in badly hidden interest. "R-really?" She looked put off, but answered in the affirmative. "Yeah. It's pretty awkward. You'd expect Niijima- Wait, aren't you the guy who stole those lobsters-"

* * *

 Makoto's phonecall was nothing more than a waste of time. Hadn't these people ever heard of texting? Her rigid exterior melted under the exhaustion that was that experience, shoulders running slack and back beginning to ache along her tailbone as she leaned against a wall. All this, and tomorrow she still had to prepare. She always had to prepare.

Her eyes fell shut as colour blurred around the corner. She lifted them to- "Eiko! Skipping your lesson?"

The girl grinned, already beside Makoto in a similar position to her friend. "I could be going to the washroom."

"Oh- I'm sorry I assumed-"

She giggled at the sight of something on her phone, turning to her with an eyeroll. "Nah, I'm skipping. Don't tell the teacher."

She gave a cry of frustration, "I  _am_  the teacher... Can you stop by the office and help me sort files?"

"As a punishment? Sounds boring."

"As a friend?"

She sighed, "Sure."

The barest hint of a smile caved onto Makoto's face. "Thanks."

* * *

"No? You seem like a lobster boy." She laughed, readjusting hair clips as she went on; toying with the bracelet that lined her wrist and not touching the bandage underneath. "I've never been to the sea-"

* * *

"I should get back to class."

A snort. "Me too."

* * *

"You wanna talk about _Akechi?_ He never talked to  _anyone,_  really, a total teacher's pet-" she came to a stop, hands fell slack. "Hey, is this boring you?"

* * *

"But you're not going to."

"You're catching on fairly quick."

"I should really go."

"Or you could  _let_  go. Wasn't someone watching over your post? You deserve a break," she planted a hand on Makoto's shoulder. The thought  _was_  enticing- "I have some weed if you're-"

She removed the hand, plucking each finger and backing away by a metre. "Okay I'm going."

* * *

"I bet he's been on a cruise before. Everyone had him pegged for going abroad. After all, isn't he like-"

Makoto's voice cut through the room with a oneness that separated her from the near-idle chatter and the quiet; a voice otherwise rushed without reason, hand tensed on the doorframe. "Thank you for watching over my post, Akechi."

"You're welcome, of course." Akechi twisted in place to respond; unbeknownst to Akira, that place was the center of the room and mere steps beyond his group, a hairs breadth away from placing his hand on Akira's chair. They didn't seem to be doing work, after all.

The girl's sentence carried on underneath their voices, lessened in the wake of Goro's proximity. "---rich?"

"How did you hold up?" She questioned, taking account of the forgotten desk in the corner, a silent inquiry on her fingertips as they traced the wooden surface.

"Well enough," he shrugged, walking to his affirmed spot; creeping closer to the exit while standing beside Niijima. "I should get out of your hairs." He announced, lifting his hand in goodbye.

She waved back. "Really, thank you."

He shut the door, curiosities forgotten.

 Makoto looked to her groups, and the whispered conversations. One group was particularly loud, in the corner of the room. They didn't seem to be taking this seriously. Makoto opened her mouth, reprimand eclipsing her tongue, but shut it soundlessly; too tired for the effort. The group quieted naturally and the moment passed as she chose to clear her throat instead.

"----"

Makoto dismissed them within ten minutes to the exact time listed, her position at her desk unrelented as she stared at the fax machine most likely without purpose. The chairs were shoveled underneath their tables as people left their spots for the door, soon overcrowded. Futaba left to find Ann after Akira shrugged off her unspoken questions.

The girl who mentioned Goro was still chatting with him, sentence ended before he noticed the bell was finished. "Later, Akira!" She said before getting out of her seat.

He blinked up at her. "You know my name?"

"Yeah?" She huffed, pointing to Futaba. "Your sister is my roommate."

* * *

"She was so pissed at your group, man!" Ryuji laughed, walking backward to face Yusuke.

He nodded in response, the memory speaking for itself, and his attention spared to ardently vy for a grab of Futaba's junkfood. She balanced a single cheeto on his nose. "She was."

"To be fair, you guys were playing speed for most of the time," Ann rolled her eyes.

The cheeto rose higher as he lifted his head, perfect balance achieved and toppled as he answered, "Rummy, actually." And let the chip fall into his mouth, graceful as a dolphin returning to water and smashing into cheesy powder.

Akira laughed aloud, possibly at fishy metaphors  _until_  Ann glanced at him and saw him on his phone. That reminded her, she should get on her- Wait, no! She pointed a finger at the offending delinquent! "Akira!"

"Yeah?" He called out, absent-minded as he thumbed out an obviously important message.

"Just wondering if you're trying to start a trend by having your shirt on backwards."

"Or your underwear on over your pants," Ryuji followed, despite having no clue as to why. Yusuke squinted at his attire.

Akira took a moment too long to process the statement, clear in the seconds that ticked before he assessed himself and found his body clothed as it normally was. "What-- you guys are terrible liars," he scoffed in retaliation. He pocketed his phone regardless.

"That's even worse if they fooled you, you know," Futaba pointed out, ginger mustache bending low over her face- oh, it was a cheeto mustache. This was a shocking development. "Don't tell me you two are texting now too!"

Ann's heart eyes lit up as she bounded to Akira's side, "Ohhh, was that it?"

"You wish!" Ryuji echoed from ahead, "It was prolly your pops, right? Sojibro?"

Akira rolled his eyes. "Neither. It's your roommate. Tsuki." No sign of recognition. "Green hair."

Ann faltered in step, gears working in her head 'til near collapse. Futaba didn't look any better. "Oh! I call her highlighter in my head," she replied, sheepish as she caught up.

"She'll always be roommate NPC2 to me," Futaba agreed. "Stats include staying up until eleven and keeping glow in the dark gel pens."

Ann nodded, admitting her misdeed with a look to the ground, "I tried taking one- just one! They're so  _cool-_  but it was pretty obvious when the lights were off."

"What's so humorous about this exchange?" Yusuke muttered, more cheetos hanging out of his mouth like walrus tusks, "Is she up to date on those... me-mes?"

Futaba's mouth was upturned in the smallest cat grin, mustache gone and all remnants only a fine dust of five o clock cheeto shadow. She smacked Yusuke's back in parts solidarity and embarrassment, the cheetos puffing onto the porch of their cabin as he involuntarily opened his mouth in response. She looked anywhere but him as she answered; "Oh, Yusuke! So much to learn! First, it's pronounced męmě§-"

"Wait! Hold on, mystery gang!" Ryuji exclaimed, rushing to hold them off from opening the cabin door. His arms raised to block them. "What if they haven't gotten rid of the rabbit yet?"

"We die of rabbit related diseases while petting it," Ann stated, stepping forward to clutch the doorknob barely hidden behind him.

"Oh come on! This is a valid concern-"

"You were the one scared this morning, not meeee-" she teased, last note stretching as she pushed open the door. He stumbled back before tumbling forward into a dive roll, spinning haphazard beyond the scope of the door just as a blaze of rabbits escaped the room. Ryuji looked on centimeters away from the stampede, tiny, tiny bunny children following after the clear parent. "I fuckin' told you..."

"Point." Ann muttered, looking crossed at adoration and disgust, wonderment all the while filling her thoughts; "Did it give birth in the room? Or did you miss sleeping under a dozen babies?"

Akira's laugh cut through the silence, tiny family flitting away on white paws. When they looked up toward him it was to find his eyes locked, still, on his- "Damn it, Akira!"

Ann laughed, sharing a bewildered look with Futaba, who brushed aside the questions she expected from the others with a shrug, "Let's just get moving- if they shat in his bed, he'll be the one dealing with it."

  
Goro Akechi opened his door fully expecting the package he received, though the exact sight of Akira Sakura saying, and he could quote until he died, "Rabbits shat in my bed." wasn't so foreseeable.

He couldn't help the snort, surprising them both by the way he pulled Akira in. With stunted movements he eyed the open door before closing it after all, yielding to instinct. "I'm very upset with you."  
  
Akira was confused, a beat of pause before he continued. "I could tell by the hatred radiating off your warm embrace."  
  
"I _should_ be very upset with you." He muttered, tipping his head and exposing his neck. Akira cradled closer to him, touching the bruise with a whistle of air.  
  
"Is that why you ignored me during breakfast?"  
  
"No, I was doing my _job."_ Then a real thought came to mind. His hand flexed open before grabbing hold again. "Are you planning to sleepover?"  
  
He noticed the unease. "Should I not?"  
  
"I would like you to stay." Akechi admitted. "But Niijima already has evidence of our involvement..." He held his chin in hand. "Although, if your bed is predisposed, it would be the responsible option to give you a temporary stay."  
  
That could work, except- "We do have an extra bed."  
  
"Right. Of course." He sighed out, "Then..." Goro noted the milky blue sky barely tinted indigo. He walked over to adjust the blinds, lowering them as a precaution. "We'll dwell on it later?"  
  
Somehow, he believes that.  
  
After much due process, Akira returned carrying a pre-packaged salad and a cafeteria tray, assorted sides and soups in careful array on plates. "We can share." Akira announced, planting the food in the middle of Akechi's bed. They sat on opposite ends of the meal. The blinds fully closed, and the lampshade twisted to a dim glow. Goro was about to begin speaking, mouth stuffed with croutons, when Akira reached across him to turn off the lamp. "Mmfmm?"  
  
The outside world still bathed in sun, he saw through slithers of blue light that came through, striped, from between the blinds. Promptly swallowing his salad, he questioned Akira as an incessant clicking began.  
  
"Is this another seduction tactic? I believe I mentioned before, but those teen magazines really shouldn't be trusted for sound dating advice."  
  
Akira just shushed him in droves. "Shhh, sh, sh. Shhhhh."  
  
Goro stared in the dim light, unamused, noting the shifting movements of Akira with an itching curiousity. "You have five minutes before I-"  
  
The clicking rescinded to quiet in a flash of light. It flooded their small area, alighting Goro's surprise in warm shadows. He watched as Akira lit a candle he pulled out of nowhere.  
  
"Akira-" his voice, marred with hints of shocked laugher, was exactly what Akira hoped for. His bemused expression caught the others, eyebrow arched and face irrevocably hopeful. "A candlelit dinner?"  
  
He shrugged one shoulder, setting the candle down in the middle of the tray. "I can be romantic."  
  
"This is why you wanted to be the one to go..." Akechi muttered, blush tantalizingly real in firelight. They sat across from each other, cross legged in their pajamas, falsified nighttime lending placeholder stars to swarm- no, those were dots in his vision. He was staring at the candle for too long. Goro lifted his vision to take in Akira, who was only waiting with his own smattering of colour to his cheeks. Goro cleared his throat half-heartedly, "What's the occasion?"  
  
Akira stopped his shrug mid-way, untensed muscles lowering as he thought through what to say. "Well..." he fundled with his hair. "You turned down my coffee date, and dinner seemed like the next best thing."  
  
"I see." Goro whispers. This would be one of their only chances to do this. "You're surprisingly romantic."  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment?" Akira whispered back. His hair waned under the candlelight, eclipsed in black as it was. When Akira was through messing with it, Goro found it harder to find him; shadows indenting all along his face, hiding his features from watchful eye. He leaned over their meal, one hand rooted to the tray and the other pushing through Akira's bangs; revealing his forehead and burning eyes. The candle smelled like cinnamon. Up close, he saw Akira's lips move before any words came loose. They curled into something self-satisfied. "Goro?"  
  
He leaned in, thinking of little consequence. Eyes fluttering closed in the proximity. Bemused expression hidden in his voice. _"Yes,_ it was a compliment."  
  
So close. Akira lowered his gaze to the other's mouth, the light of the flame dimming as it wished on the surface of his lips. Twisting it in different pale ambers, before disappearing entirely- his eyes widened. "Goro."  
  
The tone gave him pause. Eyes opened slightly, he replied, "Y-yes?"  
  
"Goro- Fuck- the candle," Akira swore as he watched it roll down the tray, gravity pulling it toward Goro's hand. The other boy swore as he moved away. In the time it took for Goro to open his water bottle and almost splash his bed, the candle was stopped at the last second by Akira's desperate grasp.  
  
Goro began to sweat. Akira was already sweating, candle slowly sliding to the center of the tray. Akira sighed, relief evident in every escaping breath. "Uh, uh..." Goro stammered and stumbled, "Let's eat on the floor?"  
  
They each had their back to the bed. The food in between them again, slightly less precariously perched. Goro had the salad in his lap, not eating more than a mouthful at a time. Akira slurped the soup in a way that should have been annoying.  
  
Halfway through the silent meal, Goro reached out, with eyes remained forward, to grasp Akira's sleeve. The other boy looked up from his pudding.  
  
Goro muttered, "I can't believe my thirst is a fire hazard."  
  
Akira choked a laugh. "It was my terminally flawed idea." His eyes flitted down. The candlelight blazed harsh, wax melted into liquid in it's encasing. "And even if you burnt down the bed, I'd be in the same amount of trouble for this stolen tray."  
  
Goro finally faced Akira. Unwanted mirth lined the edges of his sentence, "You stole this tray?"  
  
"And the food. This is tomorrow's lunch. All they had for dinner was spinach disaster and the souls of the damned." He wrinkled his nose. "I'm practically a criminal."  
  
"You _are_ a criminal."  
  
"Oh, wow. Yeah."  
  
Food-emptied remains left forgotten on a heap at the foot of the bed, candle extinguished before they could think to press their luck. The two of them settled side by side in Goro's bed. The lamp was barely lit, illuminating Goro's back and arranging a halo of light behind him. Akira smiled through his retelling of trying the hermit lifestyle.  
  
"You were in Tokyo for months, and you haven't made any connections?" Goro asked. He straightened one unruly curl on Akira's head, watching it spring back upon release. "Sounds..." _lonely._  
  
He shrugged, sheets bunching up underneath him as he held tighter to Akechi's torso. "I made connections," he emphasized. "Not friends who I'd meet daily, but there's a lot of nice people where you don't expect it."  
  
"Right. Those jobs." Reaching, his hand further dived through his hair. The other curled around the back of his head, scratching at the hair just before his neck. "I can only imagine the type of people who befriend a teenage boy, clearly working underage in a bar."  
  
"You'd like them," he shot back, not buying into the bait. "Do you not trust my judgement?"  
  
Goro smiled, gesturing to himself and Akira's current predicament. "It's possible."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
Goro paused, smiling as if amused he was asked at all. "What about me? I can't say I join shouting politicians too often."  
  
"What about your friends?"  
  
Goro froze, as quick if not easier than the smile; Akira could imagine his mind, treadmill spinning too fast though he hadn't ascertained why. He had no clue Goro was halfway embarrassed, halfway bumbling through the egotistical pride he used to feel at classmates who regarded him as if he were important.  
  
Which led to a lot of lonely lunches... It'd felt worth it in the moment. He tried not to think of every wasted outing, but the embarrassment shone through until he pressed his face into the crook of Akira's neck, his answer muffled. "Don't you have enough?"  
  
Akira laughed, kissing the top of his head. "I'm not going to steal them. I'll even give you Ryuji, free of charge."  
  
"Oh, thanks... Of course I have a few..."  
  
When he didn't elaborate, Akira guessed. "Makoto? Ever?" Goro spent moments hiding in thought, removing himself only to entangle his arms further down Akira's midsection.  
  
He looked away, an incredible feat when they were noses apart. "...there's no discernible point I would have considered Niijima a friend. Though her father is an honoured alumni so it's hard not to hear of her in some regard." He met Akira's eyes. "We were briefly student counsel together."  
  
"And now you work together."  
  
His voice took on a satirical edge to it. "We can only hope I see more of her after this is all said and done." He gave a huff of laughter. "The last thing I would want is our paths to cross..." he shifted closer, hands tightening in the fabric of the other's shirt. "What about your twenty-seven jobs?"  
  
Akira thought it through, tempted to push on the topic of occupation, or the friends he refrained from mentioning- when Goro continued speaking. "Imagine you're working... your usual talents: putting things in your mouth, gallivanting like a show pony; and officer Niijima bursts into scene- I'm curious as to what you would do."  
  
"Let her ride on my back, duh," he nudged his face against Goro's, "Neighhh."  
  
Goro gave a sputtering laugh, backing up when Akira only furthered his nudges with an eskimo kiss, noses met before their mouths did. "I'm sorry- do you think that just because you're cute you're allowed to neigh in my room? I'm sure _she_ doesn't have to deal with this."  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the alternate dimension known as two cabins down, Makoto and Haru were looking at the makeshift rabbit habitat comprised of a few old cages, a lot of fresh produce, and a dozen and a half rabbits. The two were staring at the contraption, one with a clipboard in hand. "I was thinking we could have group C take them. They're the most athletic. What do you..." her speech caved halfway at the sight of Haru staring into the cages. "Think? Haru?"

Her girlfriend had a fleeting smile, gesturing with her hand toward the far corner of the cage. Makoto shifted closer, lifting her chin to take in past the lettuce, two rabbits mid-coitus. She turned away instantly. Haru nudged her side, whispering. "It's us."

Makoto's mouth parted, "A- No! We're not nearly-" she gave a short double-check, head tilted to watch before regaining steam at Haru's smug face, "We're not!"

"Not what?"

Words escaped her, even as her face illustrated her thoughts. "So- obvious! Now tell me," -she waved the clipboard again- "Group C or not?"

"I think you've forgotten promising the package to another group." Haru tried to coerce Makoto with her eyebrows lifting higher onto her forehead. Up, up, up- "Now, can we get back to the rabbits?"

Makoto walked away as she thought, pen tapping against her lip as she ignored the last statement. "I did... To Eiko!"

Like the waves of the sea, Eiko rushed out of the backroom with papers littering her exit: "Yes? Am I  _done?"_

Before she could explain, Haru- "Of course. Won't you take a look at your charges before you go?"

Eiko excitedly agreed, dragging Makoto by the wrist without thought. Her hands touched the glass as she stared, "They're fucking!"

"Yes!"

"Which isn't new. Rabbits mate _all the time-"_

"This isn't mating. I was trying to tell you-" Haru sneaked a look around before pointing among the bunnies, "The male is over there."

"No way!" Eiko laughed. Makoto, looking as she always did when she began to question the world around her, hesitated before dropping her clipboard to the desk to watch the homosexual rabbits.

 

 "I'm just saying," Akira emphasized, leaning against the back wall of the cabin, window on the wall adjacent letting in the cool air. "There's a narrow list of things she could do to trip us up."

Goro had his arms crossed, his head tipped in satirical thought. "How insightful; one of those _things_ being assessing my work as a counsellor."

Akira shrugged, stepping away from the wall. "One misdemeanor on a summer job-"

"On a document that will be sent into a database and inevitably reach my father." He punctuated the sentence with a hand combed through his hair, fingers threading through ends.

"Maybe I don't see the big picture." He climbed the bed.

"No. You don't," he stressed, stalking forward until he leaned against the window. This was one of the only moments Akira could remember having a height advantage over Goro. "This is a necessary precaution."

"Because of your father?"

"... _Yes."_

Akira fiddles with the window lock, "I don't think she's such a buzzkill that she's staking out your bed. She is dating Haru, who's pretty fun." Goro gave no outward reaction from his mention of her. Akira sighed, peering into the ground below. "But if this is what you need me to do, I'm fine with it."

"Thank you." Akechi was staring at his own hands, not petulant but still a ways away from his usual expression. Akira gave him a small kiss before executing his sick parkour trick of disappearing into the night.

"You know, I got rid of _my_ shitty parents," Akira offered as food for thought as he climbed out the window. Legs first, he dove to the ground below. The lights in the cabin over were dimmed, and Akechi's own were still underlit.

Goro peeked his head through the window, looking down at his boyfriend. His disbelieving stare gave way to a short laugh. "If I recall, _they_ got rid of you."

That was how Goro learned to appreciate the taste of grass.

"Goodnight."

"'Night."  
  
Akira returned to his cabin to find Ryuji waving a schedule for the next morning in his face. It listed appointments for each camper, in groups or singled out. Pertinent to him, his and Futaba's would be at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugshghgsg again my twitteris uh will be linked here soon


End file.
